Wing of Chance
by Special Wings
Summary: The present was bleak and the future was no more. Thus, he was forced to act on his last resort without even thinking about the consequences on himself. The 'if' was never end but he would use these wing to use the most chances he had. He would do anything for his dear one. Time Travel Fic!
1. Last Resort

Crimson red. That was all he saw. The colors of blood and fire. He could smell bloods and burned flesh. The flames of fire made the surrounding hot, but he only felt cold. That man stood alone in the middle of corpses of allies and enemies. Some even were in really bad condition, with grotesque appearance. He was the only survivor, or so he thought. His body was full of wounds. His clothes tattered and dirtied with bloods and dirt. His expression was pained. No, it was not because his painful wounds. He did not even register the ache from the wounds anymore. It was because of the pain of losing everything, his family and famiglia, his brothers, his sisters, his allies, and his home. The man looked around and could not help but blame himself. If only he was prepared, if only he acted quickly, if only he was stronger. There were many if situations that he hoped to change. He felt regret and guilt.

Vongola had fallen and so had its allies. Millefiore, Shimon, Cavallone, Varia and even Vindice and Arcobaleno had fallen. No one had been spared from the tragedy but him. The strongest mafia famigia in the world was no more. The man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When his eyes opened again, they were full of strong resolution and determination. He had decided that he would take the risk and would not think about the consequences for him. Actually, he knew what his decision would be since a long time ago, but he hoped he would not come to act on his decision. The recent progress just forced him to act and strengthened his resolve. He would do anything for his family even if it took his life. It was the time for his last resort. He would stop the living nightmares. He would take the burden and be the sacrifice.

The man pulled out his necklace and took it off. The necklace had an unique pendant. It was a wing, but not in pair only the left side. Each stroke of feathers was in different colors. There were seven in total and had the color of rainbow. The wing hung on a sphere which looked like a clock. The man held the pendant in his fist. He could feel the hum of the others flames inside the pendant which made him smiled sadly. The thrumming of the other flames also helped him to strengthen his resolve. He started to concentrate and channeled his remaining flames to the pendant. He could feel his flame started to withered and flickered. It became unstable, but he could not stop now. He thought of his families, their smile, their banter with each other, their unique characters, the quirkiness, the fireworks, the fun and difficult times, the fights, their teamwork, their love and every other thing that could strengthen his resolution. But it still was not enough. He needed more flames or the plan would not work.

Suddenly, there was bright light from another flame. No, it was not from the fire. It was different. The flame started to take shape and became a figure of another man. "**_Decimo_**,"said that figure, making the man looked up at him. "**_Is it time?_**"asked that figure. "Yes Primo. It is," answered the man or the Decimo. "**_Are you sure?_**" Primo looked at the Decimo, trying to see his resolve. "I am sure and certain. This is must be done. This is what I must do," answered the Decimo with certainty. Seeing the resolve, Primo only nodded. "**_Then, let me help you_**,"offered Primo. Decimo opened his fist, giving access to the pendant for Primo. Just before they started their work, they felt another presence.

"Kawahira-san, you can come out," said Decimo. "Your intuition is sure amazing, Vongola," replied the said person. "Thank you for coming, Kawahira-san," said the brunet. "That's okay. After all it is my duty to protect the Tri-ni-set and the balance of the world," Kawahira said as he threw a pouch to the Decimo which he caught and then opened. He saw some chains inside of it. He knew what it used for and he knew he would need it. "That's from Bermuda. The pouch also had the same effect." Hearing the name, the brunet smiled sadly. "Thank you, Kawahira-san. Now, shall we start, gentlemen?" The three of them then started the ritual and poured their flames to the pendant.

The wing pendant started to glow brighter and brighter. It beat the light from the fire. It was so bright that it made as if it was already morning. Then suddenly the light was absorbed to the Decimo's body until it vanished. The Decimo could feel power inside his body. It burned brightly inside him. He knew his body could not contain it all these powers, but he must do it. He would try to contain it as long as he can. He would try to suppress the power. He could feel the power build on his body until it reached its peak and he knew that it was time. He opened his amber eyes and looked at his companies. 'Thank you' he mouthed. "Good luck Sawada Tsunayoshi," replied Kawahira as he smiled forlornly.

The man who had the title of Vongola Decimo was engulfed by the flames and vanished into thin air. His last words echoed in the world before the world itself crumbled down.

"**Vi prego di perdonarmi e aspettare per me, mia cara famiglia**"

(Please forgive me and wait for me, my family) 

* * *

><p>A brunet boy with spiky hair woke up from his sleep suddenly. He immediately sat up. He was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. He was gasping for air. He clenched his chest. 'It was only a dream, wasn't it?' He tried to calm himself and think clearly. After a few minutes he was calmed down. "No, it wasn't a dream, it was reality," mumbled that boy. "Unfortunately, it wasn't only a dream, Tsunayoshi-kun," someone suddenly said, making the boy jumped up and looked up. He then saw a blonde man with similar face as him and spiky hair. "Giotto-jiisan." It slipped from the boy before he could think about it. He still could not think clearly and was vulnerable because of the dream. His emotions were in turmoil. The slipped out, made the blonde male smiled.<p>

"Then, the plan work, we succeed on the first part?" asked the boy uncertainly. Giotto nodded, "Yes," affirmed him. It was all that needed to broke the dam. Without even realizing it, the tears fell to the brunet's pale face and then to his clenched hands which were on his lap. "Eh?" the confused reaction from the boy. "Tears?" He looked at the tears dumbly. "I am crying? Stupid me. Dame-Tsuna will always be Dame-Tsuna." He said as he tried to rub his eyes to stop the tears. His actions were in vain as the tears would not stop falling. "The tears just won't stop, huh?" He hid his face behind his palms. However, his hands were pulled out by his ancestors.

Giotto wiped out the tears from Tsuna's face and said in soft and loving voice, "It's okay to cry, Tsunayoshi. You can let it all out." Giotto's words acted as a trigger for Tsuna for he started to sob and wail. Tsuna cried his heart out, all of his grief, sadness, regret, guilt,and broken promises. Giotto then pulled Tsuna to his embrace. He rubbed Tsuna's back and whispered sweet nothings to Tsuna, trying to reassure him. "Sssh, it's alright. This time, everything will be alright. I'm here, Tsuna." In return, Tsuna cried harder and clenched to Giotto's shirt as if his life depended on it. "I.. I.. It's…fault.. died..all…my…" "Sssh, none is your fault." The once powerful man was left in sobbing mess. Fortunately, his room was in second floor, far away from his mother room. He would not want to wake up his mother. It would create more questions from his mother which he did not want to answer.

It took 20 minutes for Tsuna to calm down and somewhere in his mind he could hear Reborn's voice saying 'It is unbefitting to Mafia boss to cry his eyes out and wail especially in front of Primo, Dame-Tsuna' or 'Why it took a long time for you to calm down? Mafia boss should not have breakdown in front of other person at the first place, Dame-Tsuna'. Tsuna chuckled sadly with those thoughts. Oh, how he missed his tutor deeply. "Sorry to wet your shirt, Primo," said Tsuna with a blush. "It's okay, Tsunayoshi-kun, and please call me Giotto like you used to,"replied Giotto with a sweet smile. "Then just call me Tsuna,"said Tsuna.

Tsuna then rest his head on the head board and let out a deep sigh. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gather himself and after he succeeded, he turned to look at Giotto. "So, how old am I?"

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><p><strong>AN: **I've been into KHR world for a year, however I'm not really a master of KHR world, I don't remember or even know many things about KHR for I just read the manga once, and never re-read it again. After reading many fanfics, I have an urge to write one in KHR fandom. Thus, I write this fic This idea has been in my mind for a long time already, perhaps for a few months. However, I'm still not sure where this story will going. Any insights, suggestions, critics, and reviews will be received with open hand, open mind, and open heart ^_^ So, please give your reviews~ :) Oh yeah, I don't speak Italian, but I wish I do. I will try to learn it in the future. So forgive my bad Italian, I use online translators, and we all know we cannot really rely on them, rite? So, please pardon me and please correct me if I was wrong.


	2. Second Breakdown

"Real age or your physical body age, Tsuna?"asked Giotto back. Tsuna just looked back at Giotto with blank stare. Tsuna did not need to ask his own real age as he knew it himself. "What? I just want to ease the tensions,"said Giotto and Tsuna only stared. "Okay, okay. Sorry. You are ten years old now,"said Giotto finally answered the question. Tsuna still kept quiet. He knew there were more explanations, so he was waiting for the explanations for Giotto. "You are ten years old because if you are younger your young body cannot withstand the flame. I think this is the perfect age for you as your body durable enough and you will have more time to prepare before Reborn come. You need to train your body to be able to contain the excessive flames," explained Giotto, "You can start in the morning, but for now please rest," continued him.

"One question," said Tsuna. "Hmm," hummed Giotto, saying that Tsuna could ask him anything. "Why and how can you be here? I don't have the Vongola ring yet," asked Tsuna curious. Giotto chuckled in reply. "Can't I just visit my adorable grandson? There is nothing to stop me to visit my lovely grandson, right?" said Giotto teasingly. Tsuna's face turned red, thankfully the room was dark. "Jii-san," spluttered Tsuna embarrassed. Giotto laughed softly as he ruffled Tsuna's hair. The sound of Giotto's soft laughter and the warm of his hand on Tsuna's head made Tsuna smiled. Giotto's presence gave him comfort and made him felt safe. "But seriously, there must be another reason, right?" asked Tsuna again. "Yes," confirmed Giotto, "Your necklace helped as a medium." Tsuna tilted his head in confusion, asking for more explanation. "There are also my flames inside it," added Giotto. Tsuna's mouth then made a 'o' shape in understanding. Giotto then smiled fondly at him, "Now, sleep. You still have a long day ahead and school, so sleep while you can."

Tsuna did not immediately follow his ancestor's suggestion - or was it a command? He reached for his necklace and took it out. The pendant was not quite the same as before. There were chains around it, the same chains he received before his departure. He also knew that somewhere inside his pockets there was the pouch. He played the pendant with his fingers and stared at it, then he clenched it. He promised himself that he would do his best and would not be careless. This time he would be prepared for everything, no, he would prevent those tragedies. The pendant would always remind him of his mission. It would also give him power to keep struggling, to keep move forward. He looked at Giotto and then said, "Thank you." Tsuna then laid his body down, pulled his blanket, and closed his eyes. Giotto knew what Tsuna meant by that words. Not only he was thanking him for his explanations but he also thanked him for so many things that Giotto had done and would do for him. He thanked him for helping him, for staying with him, for believing in him, for forgiving him, for fighting with him, and for giving him chance.

Giotto walked to his descendant's side. He caressed Tsuna's hair, bended down and kissed his forehead. "Sleep tight, my child." Then, in a burst of flame he disappeared leaving Tsuna with a tingling warm on his forehead and a soft smile on his face. 

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><p>In the morning, Tsuna had trouble waking up. His body was sore and he was not in full energy. After all, it took a lot of his energy to be able to come back and he had a lot of wounds before. Moreover, there was no Reborn to wake him up with his 100-ton hammer, defibrillator, rifle, or anything he had in his arsenal. Tsuna woke up to a soft voice calling his name and someone shook him. "Tsu-kun, Tsu-kun, wake up now or you'll be late for school," said that voice. Tsuna opened his eyes and saw his mother's face. "Ah, finally you wake up," his mother smiled, "hurry up, clean yourself and then come downstairs to eat breakfast. I'll wait downstairs, Tsu-kun." Nana left without waiting for his answer while Tsuna still tried to gather his mind and comprehend the situation.<p>

It took him five minutes to finally grasp the situation. He just saw his mother, Nana, waking him up. His sweet mother who he missed so much and hoped to see again. His mother who he failed to protect. She was perfectly fine and alive. She was here just a few minutes ago and now she just downstairs, making breakfast. Realizing that it was really his mother he saw before, Tsuna suddenly tried to get up from his bed but because he was in haste, he was tangled in his blanket and fell down from the bed. He fought with the blanket for a few minutes before finally succeeding and then ran downstairs. He knocked down several things on his way and on the last step he tripped and fell down on his face. He did not even register the pain and just stood up again and ran to his mother.

Nana who heard the ruckus upstairs just stopped cooking for a moment and smiled, "Ara? Tsu-kun so clumsy," she then continued frying the eggs. Just when she had turned off the stove and was about to move the eggs to the plate, she felt a pair of small arms circling her waist, embracing her. She was a little bit startled but after knowing it was only his son, she calmed down. "Ara, Tsu-kun, what's wrong? I can't move if you hugged me tightly like this," said Nana to his son. However, she did not receive any answers from his son. This made her mother intuition tingling. There was something wrong with her son. She felt something wetting her blouse, and at that moment something clicked on her mind. She knew what wetted her blouse. It was tears, her son tears. Her son was crying. She put the plate back and put her hands on her son arms. "Tsu-kun," she said softly and she could feel the arms tightening on her waist. She cringed a bit because of the power her son put on his hug. "What's the matter?" asked her. Still there was no answer, just the hug getting tighter. Nana flinched and said teasingly, "Your hug too tight, Tsu-kun. I'm afraid you'll break my bone." Hearing his mother words, the hug immediately became less tight. The son was feeling guilty because he had hurt his mother. Nana then pried the arms from her waist, fortunately her son complied. She turned to look at her son.

Her Tsu-kun was looking down. His fluffy hair shadowed his face. Nana kneeled in front of her son. She grabbed her son's chin with his finger and tilted his face up to face her. She wanted to look at his son's face better. Her son face was full of tears and she could see many emotions flickering in his eyes. There were relief, sadness, fear, guilt, grief, determination, and many she could not identify. She was confused why her sweet Tsu-kun had those emotions. Was it a nightmare? Whatever the reasons, Nana did not like to see her son crying. Thus, Nana wiped his tears and pulled him to her embrace, trying to give him comfort. She patted his back as she said, "There, there. There's nothing to worry. Mama's here." The last sentence broke the dam again for Tsuna now was a sobbing mess. His Mama was here. She was really here and this time she would not go anywhere. He would make sure of that. She would stay with him. He clenched Nana's clothes. He did not want to let go, afraid that she would leave him.

Hearing her son cries really broke Nana's heart. She did not know what made her son like this. His cries were full of sadness, grief, and other emotions Nana saw before on his eyes. Nana could only hug him tighter to give him comfort for she knew that was what his son needed. She let her son to let it all out.

When Tsuna finally finished crying, the foods were already cold. Nana took a glanced at the clock. 8.35 A.M. Tsuna was already late for school. She would call in for sick later to Tsuna's school. Her son physical and mental health was more important. "Ne, Tsu-kun," called her softly as she rubbed her son fist on her clothes, "would you like to have breakfast now?" Tsuna was about to shook his head to say no, but his stomach rumbled first, giving the honest answer. Nana just chuckled while Tsuna blushed. "Ara, my Tsu-kun so adorable," cooed Nana as she stood up, pulling Tsuna up with her. "Let me prepare the food first, ne?" Tsuna then sat on one of the chair in the dining room, waiting for his mother.

Nana did not pry to her son problems. She respected his son privacy. Tsuna would tell her in time like always. She just needed to wait. However she was wrong, Tsuna would not tell her for this certain problem as he promised himself to not involve other people. While Nana was busy preparing the food, Tsuna was busy cursing himself mentally. He just broke down in front of his mother because of seeing his perfectly healthy mother. Moreover it was his second breakdown in 24-hour. He needed to keep his emotions at bay. How could he face his other friends if he could not control his own emotions? He did not want to suddenly break down in front of his friends who technically were not his friends yet. So, basically he would breakdown in front of strangers and perhaps he would be labelled as a freak. That's it. He would start meditating to control his emotions.

Tsuna was lost in his thoughts that he did not realize his mother was already put the food in front of him. "Tsu-kun? Why are you not eating? Are you not feeling well?" asked his mother worriedly. Stupid him, now he made his mother worried again. "No, Kaa-san," he put a smile on his face, trying to reassure his mother. He then started to gobble down the food in front of him as if he had not eaten for several days. Technically it was right for the last time he ate was two days ago for breakfast. In no time his bowl was clean. "Want another?" asked his mother. "Un," Tsuna nodded. His mother food was the best. He really missed his mother food. His eyes turned melancholy for a moment but he shook his head to clear his mind. He would go back to that thinking. He had to start gathering himself to be able to move on.

Nana smiled seeing the determination face his son had. She was happy that his son started to act normally and even back to what he used to before. It has been a long time since she saw his face full of determination like that. These days she only saw his resigned face. "Ne, Tsu-kun, you can skip school today. So why don't you spend the day with me today?" Tsuna's face brightened up hearing his mother words. He nodded happily in agreement to his mother suggestion.

That day he spent with his mother. He smiled and laughed. Happy that he was with his mother once again just like the old time in his childhood. After all, he now had to repeat a few years of his childhood, so why don't make the best of it? 

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><p>Tsuna went to bed with a smile on his face. He was happy to spend his day with his beloved mom. However, he could feel there was something wrong with his body. At dinner, he could feel something prickled on his mind. It was like his intuition trying to warn him of something. He also felt his temperature was a little bit hot. He shrugged it off because he was in his mother's presence and he was in a happy mood. His childish side as a ten years old kid did not want to think of anything bad. Everything would be alright as long as his mother there. But now, he was in his room alone. Just when he about to reach his bed, he could feel his body burned from the inside. The pain made him stumbled and fell down. Sweats rolled down from his forehead. His clothes got wet because of the sweat. His wet hair was sticking to his forehead. Then suddenly after the heat, he felt really cold. He tried to hug himself to keep the body warm. The drastic change of temperature made him dizzy. He tried to grab something to still himself, but he only knocked down his alarm clock and several books. He started to lose consciousness and the last thing he heard were hurried footsteps to his room. Everything went black as his eyes closed. <p>

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><p><strong>AN:** So here was the second chapter. Please give me some reviews. I will really appreciate it. And thanks for those who review the first chapter and follow this story. Hope I do not disappoint you with the second chapter. Please let me know of my mistakes and I'll try to fix it. Actually I wanted to write more of what happening to Tsuna but decided to post it in next chapter, because some cliffhanger will spice the story right? Hahaha, sorry for my lame attempt of cliff hanger ;) See you next time~


	3. Seal and Flames

Nana just finished putting on her night cream when she heard the sound of things falling upstairs, from her son room to be exact. She sighed. 'And here he goes again,' she thought. "Ara, my Tsu-kun so clumsy. What things he knocked off today?" she said to herself. At first, she wanted to let it be for it was daily occurrence, but something in her gut told her to check on her Tsu-kun. She decided to follow her gut or what she called mother intuition. She stood up and walked upstairs. As she stepped on the second floor, the gut feeling turned into a bad feeling, which made her believed that there was something wrong with her son. 'Does Tsu-kun hurt himself really bad this time?' she thought worriedly and with that thought she fastened her steps. The feeling was getting worse as she came nearer her son room. She reached out her hand toward the door and slammed the door open.

What she saw made her blood ran cold. There her son was curled on the floor. He was trembling badly. She froze for a moment because of shock, then she realized her son did not acknowledged her presence. Thus, she ran to her son. She kneeled beside her son and reached for her son arm to attract his attention to her. However, she retracted her arm just when she touched Tsuna's arm. Hot. Her son's body was burning up. Nana widened her eyes and immediately took actions. She pulled up his body with her, fortunately, he was light and small. Then she put him back on his bed, pulled up the blanket until it reached his chin. After that, she ran downstairs, took a small towel, a bowl of warm water, a glass of water and some fever medicines. She ran back upstairs and started to tend her sick son. She dipped the towel into the warm water, squeezed it, and then put it on her son forehead. Because of the high temperature, it was not long until the towel got dried. She repeated the act several times, in hope to cool off the body temperature. She tried to wake her son to make him drink the medicine. She shook him, but he only groaned. "Tsu-kun, please wake up. You need to drink the medicine," Nana pleaded. Seeing the reaction from her son, Nana hurriedly put the medicine on his mouth and forced him to gulp it, hoping that her son would not choke on it. Nana looked for more reactions, but there was none.

Nana looked at her son worriedly. "Tsu-kun, please be okay," she said. Her son condition made her thought of negative things. She remembered her son actions and behavior since morning. Her son actions since morning made her more worried for he acted unusually. He clung more on her. Heck, the first thing he did in the morning was crying as he hugged her. He did not want to let go of Nana as if he would lose her. He also did not say a single thing of what was wrong with him. When they spent the rest of the day together, he would always make sure that she had everything he needed, that he did not bother her. He always asked what she needed and tried to help her with her daily chores. The more Nana thought about her son actions the more she did not like where it was going. Her face turned pale. No, Nana would not think about that. Her son only caught a cold and fever. He would get better in no time. It was not like her son would leave her, right? Nana tried to reassure herself. She tried to focus more on tending her son. "Tsu-kun please don't leave Mama," whispered the afraid woman. 'Please Tsu-kun, please prove me wrong. Please prove my bad thinking wrong. You are strong. You able to defeat this fever'

It was on 3.00 A.M. that finally Tsuna's condition got better. Actually Nana wanted to bring him to hospital for his condition was not getting better with her treatment. Her plan was foiled by her own son. Nana was about to grab her phone when she heard her son voice saying "no.. doctor… no… hospital.. Mama enough…" brokenly. She was torn between following her son wish and doing her first plan. In the end, she decided to listen to her son for she had a feeling that Tsuna really needed her and in hospital there were many things that would prevent her to be able to tend her son fully. Nana let out a relief sigh after she checked his temperature with her hand. His body had cooled off. Despite the improvement, Nana did not want to go to her own room. She would stay awake and take care of her son. However, her body did not agree with her. The relief undid the tension on her body. Now, she felt tired and her eyes were heavy with sleep. Thus, her body slumped on her son's side. 

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><p>Tsuna woke up feeling worse than yesterday's morning. He tried to move his body, but he did not have enough energy. He even felt his whole body was full of pain. His body felt weird. One moment it was cold and at another moment it suddenly turned hot. He tried to remember what happened last night as he took a glance around the room. As he remembered what happened last night, his eyes fell on Nana's figure slumped beside him. Her face was creased in worry. It made him feeling guilty again. He made his mother worried over him again. Her body would feel hurt because the position she slept on. Therefore, he decided to wake her up even though he knew that she had not had enough sleep.<p>

"Kaa-san…" croaked Tsuna. His throat felt really dry. Tsuna tried once again to call her. Thankfully, his mother stirred from sleep. She blinked the sleep away and took a moment to finally register whose voice she heard. She immediately straightened her body and looked at her son. She hugged her son's body which was still laid down on his bed. The position was really awkward, but Tsuna could not push his mother away, could he? "Tsu-kun, thanks God you are awake. I was really worried," she said as she cried on his shoulder. Tsuna tried to pat his mother back in comfort even though it was hurt to move. "I'm okay, Mama." Tsuna would revert to call his mother 'Mama' when he was in vulnerable situation. He had stopped call her with that title since he was eight year old, when the Dame-Tsuna nickname had finally become permanent within his friends in school and even in neighborhood.

"Thank you Tsu-kun for proving Mama wrong," muttered Nana between her cries. Tsuna heard it which of course raised questions on his head but he did not want to pry into it as he had a feeling that he would not like the answer. Nana finally calmed down after ten minutes. She already tried to put her smile which made Tsuna also smiled. She asked him which part of his body that was in pain. Tsuna did not try to lie and said his whole body ached. She then said that she would make breakfast and would bring it to his room along with some medicines.

That morning Tsuna had breakfast in his room. After breakfast he took a bath for his body was sticky from sweat. His mother also helped Tsuna to take a bath. She carried him on her arms to the bathroom, cleaned him thoroughly, and carried him back to the bedroom. Tsuna blushed through it all as his mind and soul was not really a ten-years-old boy. He felt embarrassed. Tsuna took another day off that day for he was not really in condition to go to school. After making sure that Tsuna had everything he needed, Nana started to do her daily chores as a housewife.

When Tsuna finally left alone, he let out a sigh. He knew that what happened last night was not a once time thing. It would happen again. He would mostly get that kind of attack again. He had to find ways to counter it as he did not want to make his mother worried again. His gaze turned soft when he remembered his mother. 'I did give her a scare last night, didn't I?' he thought. Tsuna looked at the ceiling and lost to the thoughts of his condition. His thoughts only cut off when once again his mother came into his room.

"Tsu-kun," called her mother, "I'm sorry but I need to go. I just remembered that I promised Yamada-san to help her preparing for some grand dinner for her husband and his colleagues. I also have to buy grocery. Are you okay to be alone? Or do you want me to stay? I can always call Yamada-san to cancel it and promise to make it up to her some other day. I can also buy grocery later on. There are still several eggs for you to eat for lunch and dinner today. I can just e-" Tsuna cut off his mother's rants. "Kaa-san, it's okay. I'm already fine. I just need to rest. I assure you. You can take your time. You already promised, right? That's okay. Remember, I'm a big boy now, ain't I?" Tsuna tried to reassure his mom and gave her a convincing smile. "But Tsu-kun.." Then Tsuna looked at his mother right on the eyes with his big eyes, trying to talk with his eyes. It succeeded. Nana gave up. "Okay, then," Nana sighed, "But call me immediately if you feel your body is getting worse. I will come immediately." Tsuna just nodded in reply. Nana gave him a last hug before she went on her way.

After Nana went away, he tried to take a nap. His attempt to sleep was failed for he could feel his body heat started to go up again. He groaned, "Again?" Can he just have a peaceful sleep for a moment? "I'm lucky that mother is not in home right now," muttered him. He tried to take a deep breath to lessen the aches. However he could feel this time the pain was twice more painful than before. It felt like his body was prickled by needles, burned, then thrown into the cold sea in Antartic. He moaned and groaned in pain. He trashed around but it only worsening the pain. He bit his lip to prevent more voice came out from his mouth. He started to have trouble breathing. He panted and whimpered. 'It's hurt, it's hurt. Someone please ease the pain,' he said on his mind. He then remembered the only person that perhaps could help him. His only pillar of support in this journey. 'Giotto, Giotto-jiichan, help me, please,' pleaded him inside his mind. It felt like few hours for Giotto to answer his call when in reality it was only five minutes.

Giotto who saw his grandson condition, reached his hand to Tsuna's forehead. Orange flames could be seen from his hand and Tsuna's body. Giotto could not take all the pain away. He could only ease the pain. He was also the one who make Tsuna's condition got better at dawn. It took him a long time to identify the problem and he still did not know the whole problem and the solution. After few minutes, Tsuna had calmed down but he still whimpered softly. After all, his body was still in pain.

"W-what's.. the.. problem?" Tsuna forced the question out. "Your flame was going wild. I channeled my flame to calm your flame. But there was only small reaction. I'm still trying to figure it out. Last night I tried to do more but my flames was not enough to materialize and help you immediately. Sorry I was late last night," explained Giotto, his eyes full of worry.

"It's the existence of seal and also the foreign flames," said a foreign yet familiar voice. Both Tsuna and Giotto turned immediately to the voice with Giotto already ready with his gloves and already in Hyper Dying Will Mode, preparing for any attack and trying to protect Tsuna in his vulnerable state. In front of them now there was a pale man cladded in plain green kimono. He has white hair and wore a pair of round glasses. Seeing who it was, they relaxed a bit. But Giotto still stayed alert and felt cautious for they did not know if this person was the same person as the person they had known or if he had their knowledge.

The man walked to Tsuna's side. Giotto tried to prevent him, but with one look from the man he stepped away. Giotto knew the man know what he was doing. It also meant that the man knew of their condition to some extent. "Ka-kawahira-san.." called Tsuna. "Ssshh," He told Tsuna to shut up as he put his hand to Tsuna's forehead like what Giotto did before. This time Tsuna could feel his body felt lighter. He felt that he could talk more clearly, so he talked to make sure. "Can you please explain?" asked Tsuna in clear voice. Then Tsuna tried to sit and Giotto immediately assisted him.

"I felt a disturbance in Tri-ni-set two days ago, but I could not find the source. It was only because the trace of Giotto's flame that I able to investigate. Then suddenly I got a bunch of knowledge from the future. As the Tri-ni-set administrator I will know if there is something threatening the balance of the Tri-ni-set. Your existence here will affect Tri-ni-set be it to protect it or destroy it. I, as the balance protector, was informed of the situation and I am here to help you to protect it," Kawahira gave explanation about the reason he was there and his own condition.

"Then what just happened to me?"asked Tsuna again, trying to get more information about his own condition. "As I said it before, it is because the seal and foreign flames in your body," started Kawahira, "Remember that Nono once sealed your flames when you were a kid?" asked Kawahira and Tsuna gave him a nod as an answer. "The seal is still on your body right now. It keeps your flames at bay. However, you who are from the future have stronger flames than the seal. There is also the existence of that pendant which gives you more flames. Despite those flames had the same attributes, they also different in characteristic. Your future body may be able to handle it as it already used to be exposed to those flames. Now, you are a mere kid without any proper training. Your body has not been exposed to any flames yet. Thus, there is an ongoing battle between the seal and flames inside your body. You are lucky that Giotto's flame has the same characteristic as yours, if not his actions would only worsening your condition and you will die in no time as your young body would not be able to handle it," explained Kawahira. Giotto and Tsuna eyes widened and their face turned pale when they heard the last sentence. Tsuna could die just like that. He could die last night or even just a few moments ago. Yesterday morning could be his last moments with his mother. He might die when he had not doing anything to prevent the tragedies yet. All of his efforts would be in vain. The realization shook him really hard.

"Tsuna, I'm sorry. My actions were reckless. I should have gathered more information before taking any actions," Giotto apologized. He knew what it meant if Tsuna died. Their effort and sacrifices would be in vain. There would also no bright future. Tsuna looked at Giotto, took a deep breath and smiled at Giotto. "That's okay. The important thing, I'm alive right? You also ease my pain, so there's no harm done," said him. Giotto tried to say more on this matter but he was cut off by Kawahira. "Tsunayoshi is right. You really help him," said Kawahira as he looked at Giotto. Then he turned to look at Tsuna. "However Tsunayoshi, I'm afraid this matter isn't solved yet," he said which immediately gained both Tsuna and Giotto full attention. They stared at him, asking him to continue.

"What I did just now was temporarily. Your seal was already weakening. Moreover, it is not really compatible anymore. We also can't afford to seal your flames again with new seal for it will hinder your growth. You will back to your no-good self," Tsuna winced at this statement. He could not afford that condition for he could not waste more times. He needed to act fast. "And if we let the seal there, you would receive more attacks like today. Your body will deteriorate fast or if you can stay for a long time, when the seal finally broke, the flame would go wild and hard to control. It could burn yourself," continued Kawahira.

"Then.. What should I do?" asked Tsuna dejectedly. He clenched his hand. Why his life so difficult? Why was it always hard to him? Can't he have it easy for once? His smiling face turned into a scowl. His thoughts were stopped by a soft touch on his fist. It was Giotto trying to soothe him. He gave Tsuna a reassuring smile and Tsuna replied with his own grateful smile. Kawahira who saw their interaction could only smile sadly. Tsuna really had it tough.

"We could unseal it now, put your excess flames to some medium. Even that pendant is not enough to contain it all. The flames seep to your body, making them your own. We need to change the medium time to time and you also need to let loose your flames. I need to supervise you and you need to train your body. However there would be time gap between the medium changing in which you will be exposed to the corrosive flames. Your body will be burdened greatly, it will be harmed, thus, your life is shortened. Your body will always full of excessive flames until you take off that pendant. You can't use your flames freely until you regain more control. You need to use limiter to limit your flame uses. Each time you lose control over the flames your life is shortened. If you use those whole flames it could backfire and attack you. On the other hand, those flames give you more power and strength. It can be your weapon and a great asset. You just need to use it wisely and cautiously. But still, don't be too dependent on your flames. Start training your physics. I know how you are a reckless person and because of the last two attacks your body already harmed a little, thus, I deduce that you only have about fifteen to twenty years, or perhaps shorter. I will always keep looking for more permanent ways and other better alternatives. After all, you have proved it that there will always ways," Kawahira told them his solution.

Tsuna needed a long time to digest the information. It was a lot to take in. He already knew what his decision. He had promised that he would do anything for his family's sake, for their happiness. He would protect them. He knew that he would think more about himself as his family would be sad if he took reckless actions. But he already determined. Tsuna stood up, his body had regained more energy, and faced Kawahira, his eyes full of resolve.

"Then, please do it," he said with strong resolution. "And I have a favor for you and Giotto," he continued. "What is it, Tsunayoshi?" asked Kawahira back. Tsuna straightened his back then bended his body, gave them a 90-degree bow. "Both of you please train me." 

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><p><strong>AN:** I was on fire at night until dawn hahaha XD However, I'm afraid that it is not maximal for I didn't proofread this. I also rushed the explanation. I hope you understand the explanation. I don't really like the explanation part. Perhaps I will edit it later. Thank you for all of you who follow, review and make this story as favorite :) I hope I don't really disappoint you, guys. Please feel free to criticize me and give me some suggestions and perhaps your suggestions will make it to the story. It also seemed that I can't update in 5 days. My mother want to borrow my lappie :( Kay then~ See you when I see you ^.^


	4. First Time Always Hard

There was pregnant silence in the room. Both adult just looked at the only child in the room with blank and calm face. Their faces did not betray their emotions. The said boy just stilled in his place, determined to make both adult to grant his request. He would not raise his head until they answer. Hopefully, the answer would be 'Yes'. If not then he…. He would… Ah he would think about that later after he knew for sure what the answer was.

The blond man took the first step to break the tension in the room. He walked to the boy – who was not really a boy– reached for the brunet shoulders with both hands to help him stand up properly. "You can stand up, Decimo." His voice and tone meant business. "It is my job to guide my descendants." It was clear what the blond decision was. Then he turned to look at the other man. "What was yours, Kawahira or should I say Checker Face?"asked him.

"Fufufu… My training is harsh, Tsunayoshi-kun. I rarely take a student. It will be difficult, you know?" said the man now already in his Checker Face persona and outfit, his mask already on his face and he rested both of his hands on his cane. The not-so-young boy brightened with those words. It was clear for him what the two men's answer. It meant yes, he would get two new teachers. "Un, I'm ready for it," his eyes gleamed with resolve. He was no longer that no-good boy who afraid of his own shadow, who could not make any decision, who could not get anything right, who was apathetic, who liked to run away, who was in denial, and who did not believe in his own self. That boy was no longer there. He had long grown up from that boy. He had become the Decimo of Vongola Famiglia, the tenth leader of the strongest mafia in the world. He had become reliable man whose many relied on whether it to protect, help, give advice, or just talk and become a real friend, brother, and family. He was a leader that would do his best to protect its own family and subordinate. He had become someone who would fight to protect and thus, he would grab the chance to get stronger to do so. Yes, Tsunayoshi Sawada had been reborn from his old self.

"Your training starts tomorrow. I'll pick you up after school. But first thing first," said the oldest one, "let's unseal your flames." He walked to Tsuna and touched his forehead like what Nono did. Tsuna could feel his body burned. His young body was strained by the massive flames. His flames unstable and started to go wild. "Giotto, a little help here, please," called the tri-ni-set protector. Giotto immediately knew what he must do. He calmed Tsuna down with his own flame while some Tsuna's flames got absorbed by him without him noticing. It took several minutes to calm Tsuna down. After that, Checker Face took out a stone to store the excess flames, then gave him a small ring. "This will work for now. I will change it later."

Checkerface examined him for another several minutes, worried for any complication that might surface. Fortunately there was none. He patted the youngest boy head. "Now rest and let your body heal itself," the earthling said and without further ado vanished into thin air only leaving swirl of mists. "I think it's time for me to go too. Rest and charge your energy for tomorrow, Tsuna," Giotto smiled and ruffled Tsuna's hair with affection, then he also vanished in a burst of flames.

Tsuna looked at the place where they stood before for a moment, then he threw himself back to the bed. He laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. His body felt lighter than before and he was not burning up but now his room was really quiet. The calming presence had gone with both of them. He felt stuffed. The small room and quietness suffocated him. He was lonely. He felt lonely. He had no longer friends who he could call family. Yes, he had Giotto and Kawahira, but they could not always be there for him. They did not experience what he went through with his friends. They had not been fighting and struggling with him like since the beginning. He needed his friends. He missed the noise and chaos his friend would bring wherever they were. Tsuna reached his right hand up as if he wanted to reach the sky. He looked through his finger to the white ceiling. He could see his friends, his family's faces. He could feel tears coming up to his eyes. Ah, he would not cry anymore. He had shed enough tears. He should stop mopping around and start to move on. Yeah, he would get his gear up and march forward. He then clenched his hand as if he finally could grab the sky with his determination alone. 

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><p>Tsuna almost forgot about school until his mother woke him up in the morning and reminded him about it. He did not like school and it was not his primary concern right now. There would be bullies there and they would be there, his future – or was it past? – friends and family. Hibari Kyoya, Yamamoto Takeshi, Sasagawa Ryohei, Sasagawa Kyoko, and Kurokawa Hana. They were in his school. He dreaded the meeting. He only hoped he would not breakdown like what happened with his mother. But, he needed to keep the façade. He could not change overnight. It would make someone suspicious, even his own mother could feel there was something wrong with his son if he said he did not want to go to school anymore, moreover, after his breakdown and 'fever'. So, he decided to just man up and face the problem head on.<p>

He got to school early. He did not want to get bitten to death if he was late or to be truth he was not ready to meet the prefect yet. He knew he was in the same class with his three other friends and he could not really avoid them or not seeing them. He just hoped that he would stay inconspicuous liked old time. They started to be friend when they were in middle school, so hopefully they would not notice him this time. He got into the classroom and immediately went to his appointed seat. He did not even greet his other classmates. It would be useless efforts for they would greet him back. Heck, they would start taunting him instead.

Tsuna put his bag near his table, sat on his chair, and rested his head on his arms on the table. He would try to get more sleep while he can. Tsuna woke up again when his teacher came in. In each lesson he would only be focused on 15 minutes maximum. He could think more clearly and learn faster now after the seal was unsealed. Moreover, he already learnt it once, so he just needed to review it all and tried remember the forgotten lesson. After the 15-minutes, he would look out to the window or just got back to sleep. All time, he forced himself to not take a glance to his former or would-be friends. Several times he would be called by teachers to answer or because he was sleeping and he would just force himself to scream his famous catchphrase. It was useless to answer for his teachers would not even wait for his answers and just started on lecturing him to be more diligent and such on.

When lunch break came, he stopped for a moment to think. He did not know where to go. Rooftop and class were off-limits. Hibari would be in the rooftop and if he stayed in class he would be an open target for the bullies. He could not take care of them as his body still weak. He needed to search a deserted place, fast. He walked around the schools for ten minutes before he finally found a perfect place. There was a bench under a big tree near the glass house. The only one who came there only those who in gardening club, and they came only in the morning and after school. It had a nice view of flowers and the shades of trees would protect him from sun heat. If he wanted to take a nap, he could lay on the bench or on the ground right under the tree. He smiled when he found the place. Yeah, he could spend his lunch time there.

The lectures after lunch time were the same as before. Tsuna just went through them the same way he did before. When the bell rang, he immediately grabbed his bag and walked out the door. He was eager to train to get stronger. He willed himself not ran on the hallway because of certain prefect. However, after he got out the school building he started to run to the gate. But suddenly he stopped. His mouth was open and his face was full of shock. "Ehhh?" He pointed to the man who leaned on the gate's pillar. There, Kawahira already waited for him in his green kimono. "I said I'll pick you up after school, didn't I?" was the man response. When he heard the man would pick him up after school, he did not think that he would wait him at the school gate. However he was glad that the man had come immediately for he did not tell him the exact time before and he did not want to wait anxiously.

"Yes, you did, Kawahira-san," Tsuna said. "Hmm, just call me Uncle Kawahira. It will bring more familiarity and avoid suspiciousness from other people. Don't want your other friends misunderstand me as some kidnapper or kid rapist, do you?" He smiled mischievously. Tsuna tilted his head in confusion. He started thinking of what the meaning of the last sentence, not really the last sentence but just few words which are 'other friends'. He looked around him, trying to find something. After he surveyed his surrounding he finally understood what the man meant. There were many other kids for the school just ended, but most did not pay attention to the Dame-Tsuna. They just ignored his presence most times if not for laughing at him or teasing him. But, Tsuna saw several people who looked his way. There were his bullies who looked about to approach him but hesitate because of the man's presence. Tsuna scoffed, "As if they are my friends," he muttered quietly only to Kawahira's ears and the man chuckled in response. "So shall we go?" Tsuna nodded excitedly and put a big smile on his face. He exaggerated his movements a bit to put a façade of a child meeting his beloved uncle. "Un, let's go Ji-chan~" Tsuna said louder to let other people heard him especially people who started to take notice of him and those bullies. Kawahira who knew what Tsuna's reaction meant and because of other reason which he only knew just laughed. Those bullies decided to let Tsuna off the hook for today because he was with his uncle. However, there were still several pairs of eyes who watched him in pure curiosity for it was rare for Dame-Tsuna to be with someone.

Kawahira and Tsuna walked in comfortable silence. Kawahira just looked ahead while Tsuna looked around him in reminiscence. He felt nostalgia. He was reminiscing in his hometown which he had left once and would left again in the future. He felt comfort in the familiar surroundings. When they walked through intersection, he knew where each way would lead to. If they took left, they would reach riverbank. If they took right, they would reach shopping center. They chose neither, and walked straight ahead. This way would lead to more housing, but they just walked passed the houses. So it seemed they would not visit someone's house. They went left in another intersection, took right, then another right and left again. This way would lead to a more deserted area with few stores and several houses. It was already in different neighborhood than Tsuna's. He rarely went here. If they continued to walk ahead they would reach the forest. Tsuna wondered where they would go. Kawahira never told him.

"Ano, Ji-chan… Where will we go?" Kawahira chuckled. "So, Tsunayoshi-kun, you just walked away with someone without knowing where they would take you to. Do you do this often? I worry for you." Tsuna pouted. Why this man really liked to tease him, he wondered. "Of course not. I already know you," said Tsuna. "But someone you know can still bring you to somewhere suspiscious. Some people even led by their loved one to some place and then sold away," Kawahira said in retaliation. Hearing that, Tsuna frowned or his pout just deepened. "That's true." He already knew about this kind of things. He looked at Kawahira's eyes "But, I trust you and we already made agreement. You are not that kind of people." Kawahira was taken aback by his words, but he was able to cover it. He could see that Tsuna was sincere. There were warmth, trust, and acceptance in his eyes. Seeing Tsuna, he smiled softly and ruffled his hair in small show of affection.

"But wait," continued Tsuna after he thought for a moment, "I think you are that kind of person. You lead people with your words and con them to be Arcobaleno. You even have different persona. I also almost became your victim." Kawahira flinched at that. He did not regret what he had been done. His actions were for the earth, they were necessary and needed. He only knew that way and he never knew any alternative until the brunet came.

Tsuna saw the flash of emotions even though it was only a moment. "That's okay too. I still trust you. Just leave that in the past. After all I accept you for who you are and I seek for your presence and your help myself. I also hold you dear and regard you as one of my family, Kawahira-san, no Kawahira Ji-chan," Tsuna said softly and tried to convey his emotion with his eyes. He took Kawahira's right hand with both hands. "So don't be upset. I don't hate you. Don't worry." Tsuna smiled in acceptance. "Now, shall we go? And please tell me our destination this time," he dragged the older man. "Where? To my shop of course. Now, let me lead the way again." He chuckled again and he did not pull his hand away from Tsuna's grab. They walked in hands, both seemed comfortable with it.

It took around ten minutes before finally they stopped in front of a small store. "So~" Tsuna drawled. "I've been wondering for some times now. Why is your shop in this kind of place? Do you even get customer? What do you sell?" asked him. "I like quiet place. Yes, sometimes. Antique things," Kawahira answered all calmly. He opened the door and said, "Welcome to my humble shop."

Tsuna walked inside and let his eyes roamed around the room. There were many weird and unique things in the shop. Dragon statues, several rings, necklaces, bracelets, teapot, broom, music box, plates, armor, katana, incense, cigar, hat, clothes from several eras, grandfather clock, vases, pots, cooking utensils, and many more. There were also many he did not recognize or know of. Tsuna just tried to follow Kawahira without nudging a single thing. He only hoped his clumsiness would not strike right now. Thankfully, he could follow Kawahira without breaking anything. They walked to the back door and went through it. They reached the hallway. There were several doors in it. Kawahira went to the second door to the right from the store's door. Tsuna just followed him in and when he walked in, his jaw fell open.

"How the hell do you manage to do this?" Tsuna shouted. "Tsunayoshi, language," chided the older man. In reply, Tsuna glared at him and just ignored the comment. He walked away and looked around. They were in a vast place with green weeds below their feet. Several kilos away he could see vast areas with rocks only and no plant. He could see there was a forest in the distance and was that a cliff? He was sure when he was outside and on the street, he only saw that behind this shop there were only several houses. Tsuna turned back to look at the shopkeeper. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and tapped his foot on the ground. He stared at the man. His stare meant 'explain'.

"Illusion," started Kawahira, "Most, if not all, of the buildings outside are only illusion. Thus, I have vast land without having to pay any tax, not that I have problem with money. I just modified it to what I like, several are real, several are illusion, and the others are real-illusion." "How long?" asked Tsuna again. Kawahira shrugged, "Couple of centuries, I think. I didn't count. I also have this kind of places in several countries. That's a quirk of living for a long time and have massive flames." "Damn old man,"muttered Tsuna which of course heard by the said old man. Thus, he was bonked and received a creepy smile from the man.

"Let's proceed to the training." He threw some clothes and two bracelets to Tsuna. "Change to that and also use those bracelets, they are limiters. Toilet is on the third door on the left from the hallway." "How about Giotto?" Tsuna just remembered Giotto now when he was about to start training. "He would join later. We would only assess your current body's capability. It's only the first day, after all." After hearing the answer, Tsuna went to change his clothes and back to the training ground in five minutes.

"Okay, for starter please do some warm up and then do 200 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, 200 back-ups, 200 jumping jacks, 200 pull-ups and then run 10 laps. I already made sign of your route. After that sprint for 10 times from here, which is your finish line, to that tree and back." He pointed to a tree which 500 meters away from their places. Tsuna nodded then proceed to the training regime. He did not even whine. It was still easy and less than what he used to do. But, he seemed to forget that now he was only a ten year-old with no training and never done any hard labor. Two days ago, he was still a Dame-Tsuna which never good in anything, sports included. His body was still the same, it only improved a little because the unsealing process.

Not even half-way through the training, Tsuna had already exhausted. He was gasping for air and drenched in his own sweat. His young body was already strained. Kawahira with Giotto, who had come some time in the training, approached Tsuna and decided to cut the training half. Tsuna only had to do half the numbers of what he supposed to do. "You can't do any flames training until you have strong body," Giotto said, "so we will shape your body first. Just take baby steps, Tsuna. We can't strain your young body."

It took Tsuna around 5 hours to finish the first training. He could feel that tomorrow he would wake up with sore body. He just wanted to take a warm shower and went straight to bed after that. He opened the door to his house sluggishly and said "Tadaima," as habit. Then he heard hurried steps, but he did not really pay attention to it. In his mind there were only two things: shower and bed. Suddenly with his mind already clouded and dizzy, he felt something swept him off his feet and his body was crushed. He wanted to struggle but he did not even have the strength to. He felt a little bit panic, but finally the voice from his assaulter calmed him down.

"Tsu-kun, okaeri." It was his mother. "Where have you been? I've been waiting for you. It's already 8 P.M." 'Ah it's already that late?' "You never come home this late. What happened? Are you okay? You just recently recovered from your fever. I'm afraid that you will be sick again. Don't you just disappear like that. You should t-" Tsuna could not hear and process the whole things his mother said to him. But even in his clouded mind, he knew that he needed to calm his mother and gave some excuses or lies which Tsuna was really bad at. However he was good at giving half-truth and he decided to do that.

"I'm sorry mom," he said louder to cut off his mother rambling and to pull out from his mother tight embrace. "I did not mean to worry you. I was at my friend house and decided to help at his store. We also played and we lost the track of time." Nana was a little bit taken aback by her son answer. Her sweet son had a friend? He finally had friend? Nana mood then took a 180 degree turn. She was really happy for her son. She smiled proudly at her son. "I'm proud of you, Tsu-kun." She hugged him again. "Okay, I'll forgive you for this time. But, please let me know beforehand next time, ne? Now, I will heat up the food. You can take a shower first, sweetie," she said cheerfully. Tsuna just nodded and went to take shower.

After shower, he really wanted to just sleep, but he could not waste his mother efforts to feed him. He even almost fell asleep in the shower and knocked his head to the wall which in turn made him awake again. This happened around five times. He felt a little bit refreshed after the long warm shower. He went to the dining table, tripping several times on his way, and also knocked several table, fortunately nothing fell down except for himself. When he finally sat down in front of the foods, the smell of his mother's delicious food woke him up. He finally felt the hunger that was covered with his sleepiness. He then ravished the foods in front of him. Nana just chuckled at his son acts.

"Ne, slow down, Tsu-kun or you will get choked." Just when Nana finished his words, Tsuna got choked by the food. Nana hurriedly gave him a glass of water which Tsuna immediately took and gulped down. Nana caressed her son's back to help him in ceasing the cough. After he stopped coughing, he sent his mother a sheepish smile, then continued eating. Nana just shook her head in amusement. "Ne, Tsu-kun," Nana called for his attention, "why don't you invite your friends to our house? Mama wants to meet them." Tsuna froze a moment in the middle of shoving rice into his mouth. He then proceeded in eating the rice and thought while he chewed the rice. He gave his answer after he gulped down the rice. "I don't know. It's up to him. I haven't asked him. We just got to know each other recently." Tsuna could not find reasons or excuses to reject his mother and technically Kawahira had come to his house before, but his mother never met him yet. "But, you have come to his house, right? Then why won't he come?" replied Nana. "Okay then. I'll try to ask him tomorrow." Tsuna shoved a side dish and some rice to his mouth. "Kaa-san, can I go to his house again tomorrow? I think I'll start to come to his house every day after school. We'll study together. He has a vast knowledge and will teach me many things. I will get back home before dinner or perhaps on the same time like today." Nana thought for a moment. Her son finally found friend and motivation to study, so why should she hold her back? Perhaps his friend would make her Tsu-kun more socialize and open to world. "It's okay if it is not too troublesome for him. You should socialize more." Tsuna blushed and only answered with a small thank you for the permission and another grateful smile.

After dinner, Nana immediately ushered her son to bed because he looked so sleepy and needed help to get to the bed. Nana was afraid that her son would fall from the stairs head first if she did not give help. She even tucked him to sleep and kissed his forehead. Tsuna then fell asleep without even doing a single homework that he had. There was only a lingering thought before he fell asleep. He now had a small side mission from his mother: invite Kawahira to his house properly and introduce him to his mother.

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><p><strong>AN:** That's chapter 4. It's longer than before. Hope you like it. Btw, I have several questions for you guys.

1. Who want to see some snapshots or the glimpse of Tsuna's past, some flashback kind of things? Which part do you want to know most (e.g: the beginning of the matters, someone's death, the last moment before the departure, etc)?

2. Who want to see Tsuna's other friends or other characters?

3. Do you want Tsuna to befriend them early or not?

I think that's all for now. Please leave a comment or review. I really appreciate your thoughts. Your answers to those questions are suggestions for me of what I should write for next chapter. Thank you all, and please stay tune :)


	5. As The Time Goes By

The second day of training was pretty much the same as the first. The only difference was Tsuna coaxed Kawahira to meet his mother. Tsuna as a good son would try his best to fulfill his mother desire. Kawahira refused to come, but Tsuna did not give up. He tried every single day. Every time they met he would ask the older man in which he would always receive another words of refusal. Kawahira would often pick-up Tsuna at school. It helped chasing the bullies away after school, but they would tease Tsuna and call him names. They taunted Tsuna, saying that 'Dame-Tsuna is a big baby who cannot go home alone'. Tsuna would ignore them. He did not dislike Kawahira's presence, in fact, he was glad that there was Kawahira for him. He enjoyed his company for Tsuna could be himself and talked things that he could relate to with him. Kawahira could be like his own uncle and close friend. He did not seem like the antagonist persona that was portrayed in Checker Face even though some of Checker Face's persona came out on training.

School life did not change much. Tsuna tried to improve his academic for he said he was studying with a friend for a cover. His mother would be suspicious if there was no improvement, so he kept his score on average. He already went through it once, so he just needed to review it. He did not need to learn what he already knew. He decided to learn new things that he never had the chance to learn before which most of them not really school related. He started learning hacking and gathering information. He needed to know information underground. He needed access and there was no one to ask, so he had to make his own way. He practiced hacking by trying to hack several social media account of his classmates. It took him several months to finally succeed at his first bigger hacking project which was some small company in Namimori.

Friends, he still did not have any yet. He kept to himself in school. He came to school early, after his morning routine — in which he tried to avoid certain boxer – to avoid certain prefect, he stayed on his seat, reading books or listening to music, then on lunch break he went to his private place and ate alone, after school he immediately went outside to meet Kawahira. They would walk leisurely to Kawahira's place or sometime Kawahira would just teleport them. They would train until around 6 or 7 P.M. He would eat dinner with his mother and his mother would ask again when his friend would go to their home. Tsuna would try to give some excuses such as 'he's busy', 'he's shy', 'he said later', and such on. After dinner, he did his homework and gathered some information. Most of Tsuna's days were spent on training and learning useful skill.

His character now was a mixed of a child and an adult. He could think like an adult and even act like one, but sometime his childish side would come out. He accepted his childish side for he was still a child technically. He also thought if he needed to experience his childhood again, why didn't he just experience it to the fullest and as he liked. Sometime his childish side also helped in coping with his past. As a child, he could rely more on adult and took comfort from them. He liked the attention and care his mother gave him, and also some attention from Giotto and even Kawahira.

Time passed and it was already six months since he first trained with Kawahira and Giotto. His stamina and endurance had improved. He learned how to fight and defense himself. He started to get use with his body and gained some of his reflexes back. Giotto also helped Tsuna to enhance his hyper intuition. However, he had not tried to use his flames yet. He did not want to risk it and would wait for a few months.

It was October. Tsuna's birthday was coming. Nana had asked for his friend to come again and this time she insisted that his friend had to come to his birthday. Tsuna tried to give excuses that his friend was busy and had another appointment that day. His mother replied, "Tsu-kun what kind of friends cannot even spare their time for their friend birthday? He does not even want to come to your house or meet your mother. It is always you who come to his house. It's not Mama doesn't believe you, but Mama just worry about you. Mama needs to know who to contact and if you'll be okay." Hearing those words, Tsuna could only let out a muttered "I'll try harder, Ma." That was yesterday and now here he was in front of his friend.

"So, uncle," started Tsuna, "Kaa-san invited you to my birthday dinner tomorrow. She, no, we, my mother and I hope you can come." Kawahira was about to let out the practiced words of excuses until he heard the 'birthday' word. He looked at Tsuna and saw his determined face. It looked like Tsuna was really determined to make him come this time. His presence alone would be a birthday gift to Tsuna. Tsuna's mother also really persistence and he could not always ignore or avoid the invitation. Perhaps it was already time for him to meet the mother of his student slash friend.

The silence made Tsuna unease. He worried that Kawahira would refuse again. If determined and resolved expression would not work, he would use another one. "Pretty please, Ji-chan?" he asked with puppy eyes, his wide eyes looked at Kawahira's expectantly. Kawahira hid an amused smile and let out a sigh. "Okay, I give in," Tsuna cheered and jumped, "But," Tsuna's quiet down. Ah, he really hated the 'but'. He groaned softly and stared at the earthling with an expression that said 'what now?' "Buy me ramen for two months." Tsuna's groan got louder. "But, I'm still a child, I don't have money," spluttered Tsuna. Kawahira shrugged, "Take it or leave it." Tsuna cursed mentally. Why does everyone like to see him miserable? 

* * *

><p>It was Tsuna's birthday. There was no training today, so he went home straight after school. He tried to help his mother preparing the dinner, but she said the birthday boy should stay still and wait for the guest. His mother was ecstatic when he told her the news. She had prepared a feast to welcome the honorable guest. She was thankful for this person as he had become Tsuna's friend and helped him study. This feast would be to celebrate Tsuna's birthday and also thank you gift to his friend.<p>

It was around 7 P.M. when the doorbell rang. Tsuna opened the door and welcomed the guest. He ushered the guest to the dining room to meet his mother who already waited there. "Kaa-san, he's here," announced Tsuna immediately after he went in to the dining room. He then introduced both of them to each other. "Kaa-san, this is Kawahira Ji-chan," he said to his mother, "Ji-chan, this is my mother."

Nana did not expect this. She did not know that her son friend was not a fellow elementary student. She had guessed that her son befriended his friend when they played together, or because some school project. She never guessed that the said friend would be some middle aged man clad in green kimono with white hair and round glasses. She was a little bit shocked, but she got over it fast. She only paused for a moment before back to her usual self. She believed in her son choice of friend.

Tsuna and Kawahira saw the brief shock. It made Tsuna worried for a moment. He worried that her mother would not accept his friend. But who was he to kidding. She was Nana, his mother. His worry and doubt were unnecessary. Nana was back to her usual self in instance. She could accept a baby as his tutor so why she could not accept a middle aged man as his friend?

"Good evening, Madam. My name is Kawahira." The man introduced himself and gave a slight bow. It acted as a cue for Nana to act as a good host and warm housewife. "Ah, where my manner? Good evening. My name is Sawada Nana. Just call me Nana," she smiled and gave the slight bow too. She did not ask the lack of family name in the introduction. They just met and she did not want to pry. "Thank you for coming. Thank you for taking care of my Tsu-kun," she said. Kawahira replied with a 'no problem' and small pleasantry.

After the pleasantry they went to the dining table. Tsuna sat beside Kawahira who sat across Nana. They ate and chatted. Nana asked how they met and befriended each other. They already prepared an answer beforehand. They said that they met accidentally. Tsuna was lost and Kawahira helped him and gave him some treat. They met again in shopping center and then they often met after that. Tsuna would always come to his small shop and helped him while Kawahira helped him study for school. Nana was proud of her son to be such a helpful person. Kawahira also gave Tsuna a birthday gift which was wrapped in orange wrapper. Tsuna immediately opened it and there was a pair of mitten inside it with 27 on it. Familiar yet different. Tsuna looked at Kawahira with gleaming eyes expectantly, asking for confirmation. Kawahira gave a nod. That was all he needed before he lunged for a hug. Nana just watched in amusement. She only thought that her son was really cute to be really happy over a pair of mitten. Perhaps he was really happy to get new mitten for winter. Seeing her son was really comfortable with the man, Nana felt that she really could trust him and leave Tsuna in his care.

Kawahira went home with the promise to come again. Nana had been able to coax him with the promise of cooking his favorite foods which she found out during dinner. Tsuna went to his room with a smile. He believed that he would not get a nightmare today, even though he did not work his body hard. He usually had to force his body until its limit to have dreamless sleep. He had a feeling that tonight he would be able to sleep peacefully. When he opened the door to his room, his smile got widened. There, his ancestors slash his several great grandfathers already waiting for him on his bed. His childish side or his ten, now eleven years old side, made him run to his grandfather's embrace.

Giotto chuckled as he patted the boy's head. "Happy birthday, Tsunayoshi," said him lovingly. Tsuna looked up at him and gave him his dazzling smile. "I already prepared a gift for you." Tsuna tilted his head. "Really? What is it? Where is it?" Giotto just chuckled again. "Now, now, did I say I will give it now?" Tsuna pouted at that. He sulked and muttered what sounded like 'stupid ghostly grandfather' and 'just tell me dammit'. Giotto who heard them only laughed amusedly.

"Stop teasing him, Giotto." Suddenly a voice heard from behind him which made Tsuna turned immediately. Tsuna's eyes widened in shock. A red haired man with a tattoo on his face was standing there, in his room. "And it's not even really your gift," added the redhead, then he looked at the only child in the room. "Yo, brat!" he greeted. Before Tsuna could answer, five burst of flames appeared in his rooms.

Now in his rooms there were another five men, so there were seven in total. Tsuna tried to speak. He opened his mouth but only to close it again without able to speak a single word. He was speechless and his expression made the audience, which were the seven men, stared at him in amusement, some even let out a chuckle. Finally after a few moments, he could stutter out a word. "H-how?" He gulped, took a deep breath, calmed himself, and tried once again. "How all of you can be here? Why?"

The leader of the group decided to answer. "They are linked to me. I can call them with enough flames and strong links. They are somehow also linked to you. And for why," the blond man swept his gaze to the other six men, "they, no, we are here firstly to celebrate your birthday and the second one is to help your training with flames." Tsuna smiled hearing the reason, but then he remembered something and his smile fell. His face turned to a cautious expression. He looked at the blue haired illusionist warily. Giotto understood immediately. "They also had the knowledge of the future because of their link." Tsuna knew what Giotto's words meant but he was still wary.

"Do not worry Sawada Tsunayoshi. I already understand my mistakes. I already see the wrong of my ways of thinking and actions. I can't undo everything, but in this timeline I haven't touched the tenth generation of Shimon and I do not have any intention to. I come here in peace and to help you," explained the mist guardian. Those explanations were enough for Tsuna. He immediately smiled brightly again. "Thank you for coming, all of you." He then went to each of them and gave them a hug which each of them also reciprocated, even the skylark.

That night he chatted with the spirit of the Vongola first generation until late at night. And just like what his feeling told him, he went to sleep with a smile and could sleep peacefully. 

* * *

><p>Several people noticed there was something different with the no-good and useless student of Namimori. The infamous Dame-Tsuna was calmer, his score improved, he kept to himself more. There was also something about his aura. He always disappeared during lunch and immediately went home after school. It could be said he changed after the day he went with the white haired man after school which was said to be his uncle. The man also often picked him up after school which made many students teased him about it. But now, instead of getting upset, Dame-Tsuna seemed to be calmer about the insults and taunts that were thrown to him. Now he only ignored them.<p>

Yamamoto Takeshi was a cheerful boy who liked to play baseball. His cheery characters and smiles made him adored by many. Girls started to have a crush on him and boys wanted to be him or befriend him. That day when Tsuna was picked up by the said uncle for the first time, he saw him when he was about to go to the baseball field. He saw Tsuna ran to the gate in eagerness and expectations, the expression never seen on the boy's face. He was a classmate of Tsuna, but he never really paid attention to him. He had his own circle of friends while Tsuna had… none, he realized. He sometime also saw the said dame student got bullied from the corner of his eyes, but never did anything to help. He came into this realization on that day when there were many people paid attention to the interaction of the said dame student and his uncle at the gates. He had never seen him with someone. It was the first time Yamamoto saw Dame-Tsuna interacted with someone else in school.

After that day, he started to pay more attention to him. There was also something that attracted him to the boy. Yamamoto noticed of the boy seemed to not pay attention to the lessons and was eager to go home. He would smile every time his uncle would pick him up. He would disappear at lunch. He would also come early than most of the students. When Yamamoto came, he would already on his seat, reading a book or sleeping. Yamamoto wanted to approach him but he was afraid. Despite the attraction he felt, there was also something about Dame-Tsuna that made Yamamoto hesitate to approach him. He felt that the said boy closed himself and that he was on another league than Yamamoto. This made Yamamoto chuckled. He was the school idol and the other was the loser of the school. Of course they were in another league, but what Yamamoto meant was not that kind of things. It was different. He did not know how different, but he only know it was different.

Since that day, Yamamoto seemed to follow Tsuna's movement with the corner of his eyes. He noticed that the boy sometime tensed up and then relaxed after a few moments. He also caught some wistful looks on the boy's face. There was sometime also grief, loneliness, and longing expression. Yamamoto wanted to wipe those expressions away, but he did not know why. He had a feeling that if he was to approach him, he would only scare the boy. He could not just come to approach him out of a blue. His circle of friends would always drag him away. It would also be weird for the boy. He needed a situation to befriend him. He hoped he would be given a chance to carry out his plan.

Kurokawa Hana was a smart girl who hated child and childish characters despite being a child herself. She thought of boys as useless monkeys who did not have brain and only did stupid things. She had big curiosity, great observational skills and good deductive skills. She had sharp tongue and always spoke her mind bluntly. She was best friend with Sasagawa Kyoko who was an innocent girl who adored by many. Sasagawa Kyoko was another school idol who had beautiful and warm smile. She was kind and friendly. Many boys had crush on her and girls wanted to befriend her or be her. She was like the counterpart of Yamamoto Takeshi. Sasagawa Kyoko and Kurokawa Hana had different personalities, it could be said their personalities really opposites. However, they complemented each other well. Hana somewhat became a protector of Kyoko from the big bad wolf while Kyoko gave her some company.

Both of them saw the first interaction of Tsuna and the white haired man from their class. The incident picked Hana's curiosity. The following behavior of the dame student made her curiosity grew. The Dame-Tsuna became less monkey for her. The boy kept to himself and his annoying shriek was reduced. His score also improved even though he did not really pay attention in class. He came early to school when he was used to come in last minute. He even liked to read books. He was different from before. Did his uncle whom made him change? She also saw the growing interest to the said object from another monkey in her class which was the baseball monkey. She saw how the boy kept looked out for him and followed his movements. Her best friend also took more attention to him. She also had a feeling that the boy was more than what he seemed. Suddenly the boy came in school with different attitude. It was like he had grown up overnight or he was a different person. She could see the flash of emotions that sometime passed his face. He would sometime tense up as if there was something dangerous or as if he remembered something. She also had a feeling that the boy wanted to pull out himself from the class. He tried to keep to himself alone and did not want to befriend anyone. He tried to fade out, more so than before. The boy was like a puzzle shrouded in mystery which she had to solve. She needed situation to investigate and solve the puzzle.

Sasagawa Kyoko knew her best friend well. Despite the clueless persona she seemed to have, she knew that something or someone to be exact had taken her best friend's interest. She knew who her object of interest was. After all, she also had the same interest. What she was talking right now was not love interest or anything like that. It was just an interest which stemmed from curiosity. Just like her best friend, Kyoko noticed the changes. She was more observant than what people believed. Yes, she was gullible and did not have great deductive skills like Hana. Her observant skill was also not as good as Hana. But she was blind if she could not see the obvious changes. Thus, her curiosity also picked and she wanted to befriend the said boy.

Yamamoto Takeshi, Kurokawa Hana, and Sasagawa Kyoko were lucky for even after they went up to the fifth grade, they were still in the same class as their own objects of interests. Those three's hopes were answered by an assignment from their teacher. It was a group assignment in which they could choose their own group members. The group would be consisted of four members and would due in four days. Hearing that, three people had the same thoughts, 'This is the chance'. They immediately made their way to their target's table.

Hearing the word 'group assignment', Tsuna could only let out a sigh. He was sure that no one would pick him. He was the useless student. He would be the last choice and his teacher would be the one that assign him to one of the groups which short on member. He just needed to wait. That was why he only looked at the window. However, he was wrong. Just after the teacher said his dismissal to let the student look for their group, he felt some people approached him. He saw their reflection on the window. His eyes widened a bit in shock. 'Oh shit. Not them' he thought. He closed his eyes, tried to feign ignorance. He tried to act that he had not seen them. He succeeded for they were not close enough to be able see his reflection. They were also hindered by some people who wanted to ask them to be in their group.

Tsuna felt someone touch his shoulder. He groaned mentally and asked himself 'why him'. He calmed himself mentally and hoped that he could put on his poker face. He opened his eyes slowly and turned to the person who asked for his attention. Just like what he thought, he saw three his past slash future friends there. Yamamoto Takeshi and Sasagawa Kyoko were smiling at him while Kurokawa Hana only stared at him like he was a piece of meat. Just when his gaze swept over them, the feeling rushed to him. The grief and guilt came in full force. He struggled to put his mask back and he succeeded to do it in only a few moments. But the three of them saw the flash of emotions and decided to file it to their minds to be investigated later. He turned his gaze away from them and looked at his hand, bringing his dame-self back. He fiddled with his fingers and stuttered, "Y-yes, w-what can I-I help you with Ya-yamamoto-san, Sa-sasagawa-san, K-ku-kurokawa-san?"

Yamamoto decided to answer the question. "I want to be in one group with you Sawada. I think Kurokawa-san and Sasagawa-san also want to do the same." He said cheerfully. Tsuna looked at the other two and received small nods in confirmation. Tsuna tilted his head and asked, "W-why me?" This time the black haired girl who answered. "Why not?" Hearing the answer, Tsuna decided to agree. He did not want to have any argument right now. So, he was now had a group consisted with two school idols, the smart girl, and a loser. What a pair.

The first ten minutes of discussion was awkward for Tsuna. He could feel three pairs of eyes observed him. They also asked his opinion often and subtly tried to make him talk more. His opinion and answer seemed to please Kurokawa. He could feel that the girl stared at him like he was an interesting experiment object. That made him shuddered a little bit. "W-what's the matter Kurokawa-san? Is there something on my face?" He decided to ask to ease the stare. The black haired girl seemed to come to a conclusion and nodded. "Okay, you are not really a monkey," she nodded to herself quietly then looked at Tsuna, "I can put up with you. Call me Hana." "Huh?" was Tsuna intelligent answer. "Then call me Kyoko," the brown haired girl chimed in. "And call me Takeshi," the other boy added.

"B-but," Tsuna wanted to protest, but he was silenced by the look of the three gave him. One girl was glaring at him, challenging him to argue and the other girl was smiling at him brightly and he knew that her expression would change in a matter of few seconds if he protested. The other boy beside him also smiled at him, but his eyes gleamed with something. Tsuna knew they would pester him. "C-can I just call you with your family name? We just know each other today?" He decided to try once again. The other three children only stared at him. Okay, he gave up. "T-then please call me Tsuna," he gave them one of his bright smile. 

* * *

><p>Tsuna was happy. Today, his past friends befriended him again. They even asked him to go to Takeshi's house to do their assignment, but he refused because he already had appointment with his uncle. He promised them he would help them the next day. He regarded this turn of event as one of his birthday gifts. The next day, they started to eat lunch together in classroom and hang out after school to do their assignment and chatted with each other. He was grateful for the chance, but he could still feel the pain when he saw their faces. Sometime instead of seeing three eleven years old kids, he saw three adults. Sometime he even saw their dying faces, their body full of wounds and bloods. Those times, he would lose his composure. His friends would wake him up from his memories. They never asked him about that for they felt they had not been friends for a long time. They did not want to pry to his past early in their friendship. They were afraid to make him closed himself again.<p>

Tsuna's emotion was in turmoil these past four days since he got friends. He also did not have training for Kawahira gave him days offs to finish his assignment and for he was also had something else to do. The earthling needed to go to another country, Italy perhaps. He lost his ways to distract his mind and to make his body tired. The nightmare came. He would wake up in the middle of the night, panting and screaming. He was glad that his scream was not loud enough to wake his mother. Guilt came back, but with that his determination and resolve also got stronger. On the fourth day, he decided to do some training alone or perhaps just walked around to clear his mind. They had submitted their assignment and would eat together after school. Tsuna asked his friends to leave him out today. He had to persuade them and convinced them that they were still friends even after the assignment ended, that he was not running away, he just had something to do. He used his uncle as an excuse and they finally let him go.

Tsuna walked aimlessly. His eagerness to train diminished. He just needed to sort out his mind and put up the wall around his heart and mind again. After half an hour of walking, he found himself in the middle of yakuza's territory which he never went to. The place was deserted. There were only a few teenager and elder passed by. He was already far away from his school and his home. He could feel his intuition tingled, trying to warn of something. At the same time he heard screams and shouts from an alleyway behind him. His hero-complex which was he got from his ancestor, made him acted. He turned on his heels but immediately crashed into someone belly. He looked up and saw a scar-faced man. There were also two men on his left side and another one on his right side. His intuition screamed trouble. Oh, how he hate himself who was really prone to trouble.

"Oh, oh look what we have here," said the man who he crashed into. Tsuna remembered his manner said sorry. "I'm sorry, sir." He gave a slight bow. "What a well-mannered kid," said the man again. "Are you lost little kid? What are you doing here alone?" The man faked concern. "Do you get separated from your Mama?" asked the man's friend with sakura tattoo on his neck which went to his shoulder and got covered by his shirt. "Ah, no. I'm on my way home, sir." Tsuna kept his calm and took a glance to his surroundings. Now, the place really deserted. There were only him and those men. He then heard the scream again before he stopped abruptly. He glanced at the alleyway which was around 50 meters away from him.

"Why don't we walk you home? It's not safe to walk alone." This time a bald man was the one who talked. "No, but thank you, Sir. I'm fine," Tsuna tried to keep being polite. There was a murmured conversation between the scar-faced man and the sakura tattooed man. He could hear some of it which consisted of 'good boy', 'high price', 'easy prey'. He knew what their meant and could deduct that they were involved in some human trafficking. "But we insist," added the shortest man among the yakuza. Then all of them threw away the façade of being kind and helpful. Tsuna tensed up. It seemed he needed to fight.

Before those adults could grab him, Tsuna already kicked the man that was closest to him on the shin and threw his bag at his face. The poor victim was the bald man who offered to walk him home. He kneeled in pain, which made the other three men sprang up in action. Two men tried to grab him and the last one went behind him. He was able to slip out by ducking and rolled to the right. He stood up, went to his fighting stance then ran to the 'sakura' man and punched him on the stomach and chest several times. The man tried to punch him back but Tsuna was fast on his feet, and immediately swept the man off his feet. The man fell to his side, and unfortunately for him, he fell on his head which rendered him unconscious.

Just as Tsuna stood up, another man already behind him, trying to chop his neck to make him unconscious. Tsuna elbowed him and kicked back. He turned his body around and aimed another kick to the attacker's face. The strong force broke the man's nose. Fresh blood was trailing from his nose and he clutched to his nose. Feeling another presence, Tsuna ducked and made some space between him and the adult. Now, he faced the scarred man. The man aimed for his stomach. He gave an uppercut which was blocked by Tsuna. Then he brought up his knee to knee the boy's stomach which once again was blocked. Tsuna grabbed the raised knee with both hands, locked it, turned his body around and did a back kick. The man was pushed away. He fell, but still tried to sweep Tsuna with his long leg. Tsuna jumped and landed on the man's stomach. He then stomped on the chest and gave another kick to the head. Another one was down. From the corner of his eyes, he could see baldy and crooked nose had stood up and was about to approach him. Both of them came with the intention to kick and punch him. However, before they could touch him, he was already between them and attacked both of them. He kicked crooked nose's back which made him fell headfirst and fell on his broken nose. He fainted from the pain. He hit baldy with his fist quickly, each hit was precise to the pressure point. The man fell down and went to the dreamland. Four men had been defeated.

Tsuna stood up and straightened his back. Even though he already defeated his assailant, his intuition was still going haywire. Tsuna looked at his surrounding, and just like what his intuition told him there were more dangers. From the alleyway, came three men which one of them brought an unconscious kid on his shoulder. Another man had a woman on his back. Tsuna deducted that the kid and the woman were the one who screamed before. The alleyway group was not the only one who decided to come out. Tsuna could see from his left side another mob came out from the building. It was reinforcement. The mob was consisted of about 10 people. Some brought weapons. There were knives, wooden plank, bat, pipe, and katana. He just hoped that there was no gun. It was just his luck that he fought near one of the yakuza's office. Tsuna cursed his luck.

Without further ado, three men surrounded the boy. They tried to attack him at once. Tsuna's small figure gave him advantage. He dodged the attack and once again already between two of the assailant. He elbowed the man on his left and swept the guy on his right with his leg as he crouched down. He then ran and butted the third man on the stomach. The pipe had fallen from the man's clutch. Tsuna picked it up. Now, he also had weapon. He swung the pipe around in his hand like it was a baton and he was a majorette in a marching band. After he felt more familiar with the pipe, he lunged to the mob. He thrust his pipe, swung it up, swung it behind him, and even threw it. He used his leg to kick, his fist to punch, and sometime even his head to head-butt someone. He already took some men down, but not without some wounds. Some punches from the yakuza hit him, some knives were able to cut him, and the long weapons they had sometime knocked him. Even though he already knocked out some, it seemed that there were always others who came out. His little body and stamina could only do much. He could feel that he would reach his limit soon.

Tsuna forced his body to move. His speed had decreased. His movement was getting more sluggish and his aim was getting suck. Suddenly, his intuition screamed asking him to move his head to the left. He missed a bullet barely. The bullet grazed his right cheek, drawing a blood. Tsuna knew that he would be lost soon. Now some firearms were already out, and he already lost his stamina and he could not dodge effectively. Some shots would bind to hit him. 'Ah, where Ji-chan when I need him?' thought Tsuna. Unfortunately, the said man was out of town until tomorrow. He could summon his grandpa but the Primo could not do much in this fight. After all he was only spirit that could only interact with his descendants and flame holders. Tsuna knew there was only one way to win this fight, but that way had great risk. Yeah, he had to call on his flames.

Tsuna felt his body heated up. The flames tried to break out from his body, trying to protect its owner. Tsuna knew that the limiter from Kawahira would only be able to hold it for a few minutes, ten minutes maximal, if he let loose. He promised himself that the fight would be end in five minutes maximum. Thus, he let the flames coated his body. Now his punch was getting stronger with the flames. He regained his speed back. He would not throw his flames to these guys. He did not want rumor spread about some kid burning in flames and threw fireballs around. In three minutes, all men already unconscious or at least could not stand up.

Tsuna glanced at his limiter which was a silver band of bracelet on his left wrist. It cracked. It looked like he needed a new one. He could feel that his flames still needed to let out. He tried to regain his control over his flames back, but he knew his tired body could only hold it not for long. He needed to get help. He also needed to go home fast. But first thing first, he needed to do something about these yakuza. He walked to one of them and searched through his body, looking for his phone. After he found it, he called police and told the situation. He told them there was some gang fights and there was two civilian victims. He gave fake name as the caller and immediately went home without waiting the police.

Tsuna ran home. His feet were still coated in flames, which made him faster. The urge to let out the flames was getting stronger. He felt his body burning up again. Excess flames started to seep out, flickering around his body. After being held in for a long time, it was getting wilder. The flames demanded to have more freedom. The power wanted to be let out. Tsuna ran faster. He needed to get into his room where he would not hurt passerby. There, he could also call his grandfather to help him. Just a few meter away. He could already see his house. However, right in front of his gate, he fell down and burst in flames. The bracelet already shattered into ash. Bright flames came out from his body and lashed around. His chest hurt. He could not move his body. His vision got blurred. His head was getting dizzy and could not think clearly. He tried to still himself to call on his ancestor. Fortunately, the blonde man immediately came, already knew there was something wrong with his descendants.

Giotto saw Tsuna already curled up on the ground. He immediately went to his side, trying to see what he could do. The flames lashed around and he knew he could not channel his flames for it would only get slapped back. It would also hurt Tsuna more. Then he thought of something, but he was not sure if it would work or not nor he was sure whether he could do it or not, but at least he would try. Giotto reached out his hand to Tsuna. He touched Tsuna's forehead with his left hand while his right held Tsuna's right wrist. He concentrated and tried to pull out the excess flames. He was trying to absorb the flames. Giotto flinched when the flames seemed to burn him. But it was getting warm soon. The flames flickered out and started to die down. In exchange, Giotto's flame was getting brighter. He felt a little bit weird. It was like he could feel his body getting fuller, like something filled in his body. After it seemed that Tsuna was getting back to normal, he stopped the process and went out of his hyper mode.

Giotto helped Tsuna stood up for Tsuna was still weak on his feet. He opened the gate for Tsuna. He could touch the gate because he was in contact with Tsuna. Just when they took a step into the front yard, the door opened. Nana was the one who opened it. It seemed that she was not really expecting him. Her eyes got widened a bit. "Ara, it's you Tsu-kun? You already come back. Okaeri. I'm just putting the garbage out." greeted his mother. Tsuna replied with a late 'Tadaima'. Then he could feel his mother stare. "Why are you hurt?" Tsuna tensed up, but then his mother continued. "And, who's your friend?" At this, Tsuna got confused and let out a 'huh?' "Ah, where is our manner? Tsu-kun hurry up, go in with your friend and make tea for him," Tsuna just stared at his mother confusedly. "What friend?" he finally asked. His mother laughed. "Silly Tsu-kun, do you forget your friend who is standing beside you this whole time. Hurry up just got in. It's getting dark soon." His mother passed him to go outside to put out the garbage. She threw a smile at the place where Giotto would be and said, "Please feel at home."

Both Tsuna and Giotto walked into the house in autopilot because of the shock and confusion. When they already inside, they finally comprehend the situation. 'Did his mother just see Giotto?' thought Tsuna while Giotto thought of how Nana addressed him. How could this happen? Giotto was not supposed to be seen for he was only a spirit and did not have physical body. He could only be seen and interact with flame holders and his descendants or Vongola-direct-related people. For as long as Tsuna knew, his mother did not have the capability to access flames. So, what the heck just happened?

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I'm sad :( There was only 2 people who answered my question and gave me some kind of feed back. Can you please leave me a review. I also have another questions for you guys.

1. Do you think the arcobaleno cursed should be lifted sooner or not?

2. Once again I ask, who wants some snippet of past memories?

And~ Please forgive me for that stupid attempt of fighting scene. It was my first try on fighting scene. I knew it was a mess. English is not my first language and my vocabulary especially fighting words are limited. Please pardon me. That's why~ please give some review and critique to help me improve ^~^ Last, but not least. Thank you for everyone who liked and followed this story. Some of you even marked this story as your favorite. Thank you all. Your feedbacks and reviews really motivate me. :)


	6. Another Start of Beautiful Friendships

Nana went back inside and found her son and his friends were deep in thought. They were stood still in front of the door. They had not even taken off their shoes yet. Nana tilted her head and voiced her thought, "Ara, Tsu-kun? Why don't you get in?" Her voice woke the two males from their daydream. The two males turned to look at her. Nana frowned up when she saw her son condition. Before she was distracted by the guest presence and her task of taking out garbage, but now she finally could assess her son condition more. There were several wounds on his body. His right cheek was grazed by something. There were dried blood on his cheek, and several parts of his body. She could also see bruises already forming. She asked once again. "Tsu-kun, why are you hurt? What happened?"

Tsuna knew he needed excuses fast. If he was the old Dame-Tsuna, he would only be able to stutter his answer out. But he was not that boy again. He was once a mafia boss. Thus, he could pull out a poker face and lie through his teeth. He still felt guilty to lie at his mother, but he did not want to make his mother worried. "I was chased up by dogs, tripped several times, fell, and scratched my face on a stone. Along the way, I also crashed onto some things, scratched by tree branch and whatever comes into my way," explained Tsuna as he forced himself to blush, to make it seemed he was embarrassed by his experience. The explanation seemed like what Dame-Tsuna would experience. His mother believed him. "You should be more careful, Tsu-kun," said his mother then her gaze shifted to the man beside her son. "Who are you, once again?" she asked.

Tsuna decided to answer for his grandfather. "Kaa-san, this is Giotto-san, er, um my friend" he started, "Giotto, this is my mom." Nana threw her welcoming smile to Giotto. "Hello Giotto-san, my name is Sawada Nana. Just call me Nana." Giotto also introduced his name formally. "Ah, Pleasure to meet you, Nana. I've heard a lot about you. My name is Giotto Vongola and also please just call me Giotto." Before Nana could ask more question, Tsuna butted in. "er, kaa-san. Can Giotto and I go to my room? We'll be down for dinner." Nana gave him her approval. "Okay, Tsu-kun and don't forget to treat your wounds." Hearing the approval, Tsuna immediately grabbed Giotto's hand and dragged him upstairs to his room.

Inside his room Tsuna released Giotto's hand from his grip and turned to the older man. "We need excuse on your background and how we meet et cetera. Last time, before Uncle Kawahira came, we already covered the background story. But this time, it is an unexpected event. We still don't know how long you'll stay solid and visible. That's why we need an impromptu story that will let you stay here and visit me often. Even though my mother will not question much about it, but others will especially with our similar looks. Do you have any idea?" Tsuna's mind was already on work. He already thought of several possibilities, but he still need suggestion from his ancestor. Then his thought came into a question that made him more worried. "Uh, Giotto," he trailed, "Can you go back to the ring or spirit realm or wherever you reside before? I mean, you have solid body right now."

Giotto did not answer with words. He immediately tested the possibility. He tried to get back but to his and Tsuna's disappointment, he failed and could not go back. "Okay, let's cover this fast," said Tsuna as he let out a sigh. Then they started to brainstorm. They put up the ideas together and filled the hole of each idea. Half an hour later they came up with two choices.

"So, we can tell your mother that I helped you when you tripped and you have met me several times before. Today, to match it with your story before, I also helped you when you got chased by dogs and tripped. However this cannot really cover of my extended stays here, if it really happens," said Giotto. "Or, we can tell that you're my distant relative from my father's side that heard about our family and decided to visit for you already have intention to move to Namimori. You are lost and bumped to me. We introduced ourselves and after hearing my name, you know that I am the one you're looking for. But if Kaa-san tells this to my father, he and the whole Vongola will get suspicious. And Kaa-san might ask you more about your family if we are relative." Tsuna told their second option. They went back into thinking. Each option had its own ups and downs. The first was probably the simpler one and would give them more flexibility in twisting their story later on. However, it did not give reasons for Giotto extended stay and how he would stay by Tsuna's side most times. His mother would ask of his occupation and such on. The second option would mostly answer people's question of their similar looks and would let Giotto to come to his house without suspicion. It would prevent rumors. After all, Nana was a woman and Giotto was a young man.

After a while, Tsuna came up with another idea. His eyes brightened and it seemed that a light bulb turned on in his mind. "How about this," Tsuna started, "We went with the first option. I'll ask my mom to let you sleepover tonight and perhaps several nights more. I'm sure she would agree. If not, I would become a whiny child for I already attached to you," Oh, how he hate to resort to that for inside he was a man already in his twenties. "For further accommodation you can stay at Uncle Kawahira's place. I'm sure he also has some kind of explanations to our current situation. Let's ask him after he comes back. For clothes, I have some money to buy you new clothes. Let's buy you some before dinner. We still have times. I will make excuses to mother. Then later on, if people ask we'll say that we are relatives. When my mother asks, just say that we know after a while. We'll work on more detail later on. We just need to answer my mother questions right now which I know for sure she won't ask for details."

"That seems okay enough for me. Let's go with that," Giotto nodded in agreement. Tsuna beamed at him, relieved that they reached a conclusion. "'Kay then. Now I'll take a short shower and after that we can go." Tsuna then left Giotto and went to bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, he was already in new clothes, looking fresher. His wounds already tended and covered in bandages and bandaid. He went downstairs with Giotto and asked his mother to let him go outside to buy something and Giotto would accompany him. He got the permission with the promise to come home before dinner which would be in an hour. It seemed that his mother made another feast to celebrate the visit of his second friend.

They were back in time to put their shopping bags into Tsuna's room without being asked about its inside for his mother still busy preparing the table. They talked over diner and Tsuna's plan, or the half of it succeeded. At the end of diner, Nana let Giotto to stay over the night. She did not ask many questions. She did not ask for details. Yes she asked about Giotto's life but its general things like what his job and where he lived. She did not even ask about their uncanny resemblance to each other. Giotto answered that he did not have any job at the moment and he lived several blocks away (Kawahira's place). Then they talked mostly about life in general and about Tsuna. Nana felt happy that her son made another friend. She did not ask why her son only had older men as friends. She had nothing against her son preference of friends, but she also hoped that her son would have friends of the same age. Oh, if she only knew of her son and his friends real age. But at least, he could get friends of the same age of his physical body. Fortunately for her, her wish was already granted or was in progress.

* * *

><p>Hibari Kyoya was Namimori protector. He should already in middle school but he still felt the need to protect the elementary school. The middle school already had the disclipinary committee. His right hand Kusakabe Tetsuya could handle it for now. He would join them on the second term. He could do as he pleased. Despite his young age, Hibari Kyoya already made a name in his hometown. His name alone could instill fear. His presence would silence people and make them run away to avoid him. He loved Namimori and would 'bite to death' everyone who dared to hurt his dear town. He ruled the town and would discipline anyone that disobeyed his rule, especially the one that disrupted the peace. He hated crowds and weakling. He saw others as herbivore and himself as carnivore that preyed on them, that ruled them. For as far as he knew, he was the only carnivore who resided in Namimori and protected it from harm and disgusting herbivore who disrupted the peace. That was why that one evening really picked his curiosity.<p>

He was on afternoon patrol when he heard from his contacts that the police received a report of some gang fights and there were victims. The news roused his bloodlust. How dare those annoying herbivores disrupt the peace in Namimori. He would bite to death those herbivores before the police came. He went to the said place in full speed. However when he reached the location, he could not sate his bloodlust. Those herbivores already defeated by someone else before him. From his sharp observational skills, the beating was not from other yakuza. The bodies that littered on the ground were only from one group. If there were yakuza fights, there would be more bloodshed and there should be victims from both sides unless the winning side had time to bring all of their losses. Hibari crossed that possibility. His instinct told him that it was not done by other yakuza groups. It was done by some stronger group or better yet a carnivore like himself. Hibari grinned at his thought.

Hibari walked to one of the still conscious herbivore. He hovered over his unmoved body on the ground. "Herbivore," he called, "Who did this?" The man did not answer. Why should he? He did not have obligation to answer to this unknown boy. Oh, he did not learn from experience, did he? He should have learnt to not underestimate kid after his beating ten minutes ago. But, of course his mind was clouded by foolish pride and his arrogance. "Herbivore, answer me or I will bite you to death." Hibari Kyoya hated waiting and he already pulled out his tonfas to bite the herbivore to death. He did not care that the herbivore was already in no condition to defend himself. The man paled when he heard that phrase. He only knew one person who talked like that in Namimori. He heard the rumor about the demon boy who protected Namimori ruthlessly and now he faced the said demon. He immediately stammered his answer, "A-A b-bru-brunet b-boy. He had spiky brown hair. I don't know his name." Hibari put the tonfas back into its place again and replied with a 'Hn'. The man relieved that he did not need to feel the hit of the deadly tonfas. But a few moments later, he lost consciousness from Hibari's kick. At least he did not receive more torture.

The police only came to see bodies littered on the ground and one Hibari Kyoya standing on the middle of it. Of course, they came into a conclusion that he was the one who bite them to death. They immediately went to help the victims who started regained conscious. From them, the police knew that the yakuza tried to kidnap them. They searched through the building near there, and found their office. The yakuza was a new one and still tried to make a name. They named themselves 'Yama-gumi' for they want to be as big as mountain. They were the less noble one for they had human trafficking business and drug dealings. They mostly sold women and children. The police also later came into conclusion that Hibari actions had wiped out all the members of the yakuzas, thus the Yama-gumi already ceased to exist before it had chance to flourish.

When Hibari Kyoya heard that the police thought that he was the one who wiped out the yakuzas, he turned to the police and said. "Herbivores, it wasn't me." Then he walked away from the crime site. He did not want to take credit for other people's works. It would hurt his pride. He was not like those herbivores who really like some titles, ranking, and praises. But, this new carnivore really took his interest. He was a boy like himself and already wiped out a small yakuza family. Hibari looked forward to meet the boy, challenge him, and bite him to death. He smirked at his plan to meet the boy. He would use his resources to find the boy. Few minutes later when he was on his way to continue his patrol, he felt some strong power in the air. The power was calling for him, asking for a fight. He knew immediately, it came from that carnivore. His smirk widened, making more people shuddered and went away.

The next day Hibari paid more attention to the passing students at the gate. He went to his post one hour earlier than what he used to for he needed to look for a certain spiky brunet. His presence shocked many students. They tried to behave and avoid crowding in front of him. They walked in silence and in hurried pace. They did not want to stay long in Hibari's presence. During his lookout, he only found one boy with spiky brown hair. The boy stumbled right in front of him after seeing him at the gate and almost fell onto his face. He balanced himself quickly, and looked at Hibari. He flinched a little when he looked at the raven haired boy, but he greeted him. "Good morning, Hibari-senpai," he greeted then walked away. It was the first time this herbivore greeted him and looked him in the eyes. Hibari followed him with his eyes and noticed that he had some bruises. He had bandages on his body and bandaid on his cheek. He knew who the boy was. He was Sawada Tsunayoshi, which often called as Dame-Tsuna. He probably got the bruises because of his clumsiness when he tripped and feel or it could be from the bullies. However, Hibari's guts feeling told him that it was something different and he had another theory on his mind that might be seemed ridiculous to other person and even for himself. But, Hibari believed his gut feeling, thus he just needed to test his theory. A grin came up to his face and at the same time one Sawada Tsunayoshi shuddered.

* * *

><p>After school, Tsuna's group of friends dragged him to Takesushi. It turned out that they postponed their plan because of Tsuna's rejection. They wanted to celebrate their new friendship and the end of the assignment and without Tsuna it was meaningless. Hearing the reason, Tsuna just smiled softly and let himself dragged. They ate and talked about themselves. Tsuna avoided the talk about him and just answered shortly and vaguely. He would redirect the conversation to talk about his friends' life instead even though he already knew most of them. He only said that there was nothing interesting in his life, he had no friends before, he only lived with his mother, and yeah, that was his uncle that picked him up even though it wasn't really his uncle. He did not indulge more on the later topic. After their times together, his three friends felt closer to him and felt that they knew him more. But they also knew that it was only a glimpse of who Sawada Tsunayoshi really was.<p>

Tsuna came home to see Giotto and Kawahira had a cup of tea with his mother. "Ara, Tsu-kun comes join us. They have waited for you to come home. And why don't you tell me that they already know each other?" his mother beckoned him to come to the dining table. This morning, he escorted Giotto to Kawahira's place. He had the key and asked Giotto to wait there for Kawahira. He was coming home today. So it would be okay to wait there. But he did not expect that they would visit him immediately.

"Ah, I'm sorry, have you waited long?" asked Tsuna, not forgetting his manner. "It's alright Tsunayoshi-kun. We had good time chatting with your mother," his uncle said and gave him a mischievous smile. "Yeah, Tsuna we talked about you and get to know you better," added his grandfather with a cheeky smiled. Tsuna wondered what they talked about then his eyes darted to the books on the table. No, it was not a book. It was a photo album, his childhood photo album to be precise. Tsuna's face turned red, not from anger but from embarrassment. "Mom~," he whined. The three adults chuckled from his reaction.

"Tsu-kun you don't need to worry. Mama only talked about your cuteness. You are really adorable as a little kid and even until now," said his mother. The blush only deepened. "Okay, then. I'll leave you with your friends. I'll prepare dinner," added his mother, leaving her son with his friends. It was a cue for Tsuna to glare at his friends in which only made them smirked amusedly. "Humph," the expression of his annoyance, but once again his friends only smiled teasingly. In the end, Tsuna decided to ignore their behavior and reached out for their arms. He dragged them to his room.

"Okay, now tell me," Tsuna went straight to the important discussion. "We have a theory," started Giotto, "I absorbed a lot of your flames, enough to stabilize yours until now and also give some effects to me. The high density of your flames and the high voltage of fiamma voltages make my body solid and visible. However, this is only temporary because the quantity and the voltage were not enough to make it permanent. I will be back to my spirit-self tonight."

"I'm sorry about your limiter, Tsuna-kun. Here, I bring you a new one. I hope it is durable enough." Kawahira gave Tsuna another bracelet. Tsuna wore that bracelet on his left wrist. "I think we can use your excess flames that we had collected before and the future ones to make Giotto's body solid again. This way he can help you train more. I also already heard about Giotto's guardian. If you have enough flames you can also do the same to them for training," continued him. Tsuna just nodded along the explanation, absorbing the information.

"Will it burden my body?" asked Tsuna. "Yes and no," answered Kawahira with a vague answer. Tsuna stared at him, prompted him to elaborate. "Yes, because you still have different characteristic of flames in your body. It will burden you until your body start adapting to all of those flames or at least until they find a perfect balance. I'm afraid the stronger you get the more massive flames you get. But, you can handle it by having more control of your flames and find the perfect balances. If you give too much flames, it can also damage your body too for the balance will be damaged, and the flames will eat your body. No, because at the same time when you give your flames to others, you can lessen the massive flames. The recipient won't have the same complication as you because your body already acts as a buffer and a filter. The sky harmonization characteristic makes the flames able to adjust to the recipient's flame. It is kind of like how Bermuda feed his night flames to other Vindice, but unlike him you can give yours to anyone," elaborated Kawahira. Tsuna nodded again, showing his understanding.

"Then, I think we should proceed to the flames training. Yesterday's experience told me that my body can already handle the flames to some extent, but it's clear that I really lack control," Tsuna said, giving his own opinion. Both adult nodded, showing their agreement to Tsuna's opinion. "We'll start tomorrow," replied the white haired man.

"Ah, now when we already making some progress in my training, Uncle, I also have a favor, no several favors to ask. May I?" said Tsuna. "It depends of what your favors are, Tsunayoshi." Kawahira said seriously. Tsuna went to his desk, open the first drawer, and took out a piece of paper. He gave the paper to Kawahira. "First, may I ask you to locate several people on this list? I need to meet them or at least know their conditions. My skill is not good enough to really locate their exact location. Second, can you bring me to Italy and to some of their location on winter break? Even though I'm half-hearted in leaving my mother alone, it is needed to be done. I need you and perhaps Giotto to be my reason to go and also accompany me. My movements as a child are really limited. I also need you to cover my movement from Vongola and underground. Third, please help me meet the Vindice, you don't need to show yourself to them, just provide me a situation to meet them. Fourth, please warn Nono about the despair that will befall him. Last, about the curse, what we can do about it? "

Kawahira scanned the list. He knew all of the names on the list. Mukuro Rokudo and his gang, all Arcobaleno, Chrome Dokuro, Gokudera Hayato, Byakuran Gesso, Spanner, the Shimon and Talbot, he already knew where they were right now. After all, he just checked on them on his last outing which was several days ago. He also gave warning to the holders of Tri-ni-set to be more cautious and protect it. The Mare holder still had not been chosen yet. Byakuran Gesso had not realized his power yet. Kawahira thought over all of Tsuna's request and considered each request whether it was a good idea to grant it or not. The room fell into silence. Giotto grabbed Tsuna's shoulder, giving him support. Tsuna turned to him and gave him a grateful smile. Then they waited for the Tri-ni-set administrator's answer.

All of Tsuna's requests had the same goal: save and help his friends. If he could ease their pain and prevent them to experience some agonizing events then he would do it. His friends had already on his mind since the beginning. Yes, at first it was painful to remember them. The bittersweet memories made his heart ached. At the same time, it gave him stronger resolution. He did not want the same end. He had promised himself that he would use the most of this chance to save them and made a better future. No, he did not want to somewhat manipulate his past friends to become his friends again in this timeline. He would still let them to make their own decision. He would extend his hand to give them friendship and companion for life, but it would still their decision whether to accept it or not. He just wanted to save them from their own despair and darkness. He would spare them the pain.

He, himself, already had some guesses on the location of several people. Byakuran most likely was still in Gesso mansion. Rokudo Mukuro was in Lancia's place in Northern Italy, or so he hoped. Chrome Dokuro was still in her house. Gokudera Hayato was somewhere in Italy. Reborn was probably still tor-tutoring Dino. Yuni was still a young kid and probably Aria still alive and they lived in Giglio Nero mansion. Lal Mirch was with his father and Colonello was in Mafia land. Fon was in China. Tsuna did not ask about Varia, because he knew they would only act after Xanxus was free from his ice cage. He would let them for now, but he would surely prevent the kidnapping of Nono.

Despite his high dreams, he realized that he could not save everyone. He wanted to save Nono's sons, but he did not really know them and their date of deaths. He could only warn him. He also knew that some things were bound to happen, but he would still try his best in preventing some things to happen.

"Alright," Kawahira said, breaking the silence, "I will do your favors." Tsuna looked at him with hope, but still refrained himself to say thank-you yet. Kawahira had not said which one he approved. "Which one?" asked Tsuna. "I will do the first until the fourth one," he answered. Kawahira did not say anything about the last one. "What about the last one?" questioned Tsuna again. Kawahira did not say that he refused it directly. "It's not the time yet. We can do it just like the last time, but we need more flames. Yours is not enough," said him. "What if it ended like the last time, if the same things happened?" Tsuna asked again. "That's why you are here, Sawada Tsunayoshi. It is your job to prevent it." Kawahira gave him a solemn answer.

* * *

><p>It was the start of new week, another day of school. One Hibari Kyoya was already waiting at the gate since early morning. He wanted to test his theory this morning. He was already impatient and hoped that his target would come quickly. He wanted to bite him to death already. Fortunately for him and unfortunately for his target, he saw his target five minutes later, walking to him. He grinned and had difficulty to contain his excitement and bloodlust. He just needed to wait a few moments more until his target approached him and realized his presence.<p>

Tsuna's intuition warned him about something when he was about to go to school. It was not something really critical and dangerous, so it was not about assassin or mafia. He could not decipher what it meant, but if he associated school with danger, he could only come up with one answer: Hibari Kyoya. He had a feeling that he would get in trouble with him. He could not ditch school for Hibari would chase him and bite him to death more. He could only hope that he would able to avoid him during school. Therefore, he went earlier but on his way, the warning got louder. He finally knew why when he saw Hibari Kyoya already at the gate with a devious grin and obvious bloodlust. His intuition said that he was waiting for him and once again, his intuition was right. Just when his eyes met the tonfa-wielding boy, the older boy lunged to him with both tonfa already on his grip.

"HIEEE!" Tsuna let out a surprise shriek. He cringed at his own high-pitch voice and unconsciously dodged the attack to his chest. Hibari thrust his right tonfa to Tsuna's temple. In reflex, Tsuna moved his head to the right. Hibari's grin got wider. Seeing Hibari's wider grin, Tsuna could only thought, 'Oh shit, he got interested in me.' Hibari aimed his left tonfa to Tsuna's stomach, but Tsuna jumped back and moved his body to the left, missed the tonfa barely. "What's my fault, Hibari-san?" he asked.

Hibari tempted to keep attacking the brunet, but hearing the question he thought that he should gave him some explanation. "Fight me." Yup, there was his explanation and he immediately lunged at the younger boy again. He swung his right tonfa to Tsuna's head, Tsuna ducked, only to meet the left tonfa in front of his face. He was forced to grab the tonfa to avoid being hit, but immediately let go of it and jumped back, avoiding another hit from the other tonfa. Wrong movement, the act of grabbing the tonfa only fueled Hibari's interest more. "Are you a herbivore or a carnivore?" Hibari asked in the middle of pointing his tonfas to Tsuna's neck and stomach. Tsuna blocked both tonfas with his arms. He could feel Hibari's power. It was powerful for kids his age but it still lacked a lot and only gave him a slight pain. Tsuna did not answer Hibari's question. Tsuna kept dodging and blocking the attacks. He did not have any intention to fight back which irritated Hibari. He was glad at least he already had six months of training to get his reflex and some of his skill back or he would already be a dead meat right now.

"Attack me," demanded Hibari. Tsuna replied with "Why should I?" and kept dodging. Hibari was frustrated. He did not like to be the one who attacked with no clear hit. It seemed that he was being played by this person. He suddenly stopped his attacks and lowered his tonfa which made the other boy curious but still in guard. Hibari still needed to decide what to call the other boy. He still could not decide whether the boy was a carnivore or a herbivore. Hibari felt that the boy was neither. The boy was too soft-hearted and clumsy to be a carnivore but stronger and more cunning than a herbivore. He was in between. Hibari finally decided what to call him.

"Omnivore," called Hibari. Tsuna raised his eyebrow at that. Waw, Hibari already called him an omnivore this early. "Answer me, are you the one who wiped out those herbivores and taking my prey?" Tsuna tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked. Hibari tempted to just bite him again because Hibari Kyoya did not answer to anyone. But he needed answer himself. "Several days ago, a group of troublemaker herbivores were defeated by a single person and there were two civilian victims that was about to be sold," he explained. Ugh, how Hibari Kyoya hated to explain and go in detail. It was Kusakabe Tetsuya's job. Unfortunately, he was not there right now and Hibari had to do the job.

Hibari saw the flash of recognition on the brunet, but he covered it quickly. No one would be able to catch it if they did not really pay attention and observe his movement. 'Hmm, this omnivore good,' he thought and he did not need to wait for verbal answer from the boy. "Hn, Come to rooftop at 6 A.M tomorrow," demanded him and walked away, leaving the boy alone to process his words.

Several minutes passed before the boy finally processed the words and let out his infamous shriek. "HIEEEEEE!" Some things never changed.

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><p>Sasagawa Ryohei was the older brother of Sasagawa Kyoko. He was the opposite of his sister. While his sister had calm demeanor, he had boisterous and loud characters. He liked to do things the extreme ways. He was obsessed with boxing and trained his body vigorously. His extreme behavior often made his sister worried. His sister did not like to see her brother fought because he had severe injuries one day after a group of older boys beating him. But, other than his love to that extreme sport, Ryohei also fought to protect. Ryohei was forced to lie and made stupid excuses to his sweet sister each time he received new wounds. Fortunately for him, his sister was gullible and innocent.<p>

Ryohei wanted to share or infect other people with the same enthusiasm to boxing. He liked to meet extreme person who could fight and liked to fight with him. Each morning he would jog around Namimori before going to school. He sometime met Yamamoto Takeshi, a kouhai of his and a fellow athlete during his morning jog. He would ask him to join boxing, but the younger boy would refuse because he already belonged to the baseball club. In the elementary school, there was baseball club but no boxing club. Ryohei promised himself he would join boxing club in middle school. He just needed to wait a little bit more.

The one thing Sasagawa Ryohei hated was someone who hurt his little sister. He did not like people take advantage of his innocent sister. One of his goals in life was to make his sister happy other than protecting her. Despite of being clueless, short-minded, had short-term memory, and lack of capability to think thoroughly, he could read his sister emotion. He realized that there was something bothering her mind these days. He hoped that it was not someone for he would punch that someone in the face for making his sister frowned. One day, his sister came home all smiles and it seemed like she just ate her favorite cakes, but that day was not her appreciative day, and Ryohei knew that. So, he asked her what happened to make her so happy.

Kyoko said that she and Hana just made new friends who were Yamamoto Takeshi and Sawada Tsunayoshi. Ryohei already familiar with the former boy and only heard about the later boy. He knew that he had brown spiky hair and was a short boy. He already saw him several times. He was famous of being Dame-Tsuna. However, Ryohei did not want to judge someone without meeting and knowing them beforehand. Ryohei knew that his sister rarely had interest to other boys. So he asked bluntly whether she had crush on one of them or not. Kyoko blushed and denied it. She then told him that the one who took her interest was the later boy and the former boy also had the same interest with the boy. That was why she, Hana, and Takeshi befriended the boy. Kyoko talked and talked about the boy, about Hana and Takeshi's interest on him, about her own interest, about his changes, about the emotions on the boy's eyes. Ryohei listened intently to Kyoko's story. He did not understand most of it, but at the end of the story, he was also interested with that boy, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Ryohei finally got the pleasure of meeting the said boy one morning on his morning jog. He was already on his third rounds of jogging and decided to slow down and cool down for a moment before started running in extreme pace again. He was about to reach his school when his eyes saw something mesmerizing. Hibari Kyoya was in the process of biting someone to death. It was everyday occurrence, but what made it mesmerizing was he failed to do so. His target of violence kept dodging and Hibari could not make a clear hit. And guess who his victim was? It was none other than the said dame student, Sawada Tsunayoshi. At first, he dodged almost clumsily, but then it got better. The flow of his movement got better like he could read the other's attack. He could also block several attacks and grab Hibari's tonfa. The sight froze Ryohei, his feet rooted to the ground. He was mesmerized with the one-sided fight and it was on Hibari's side. Even until the fight ended Ryohei still rooted in his place. It was only after a loud girlish shriek heard in the neighborhood, that Ryohei finally woke up from his trance and replied the shriek with his own shout, "EXTREMEEEE!", making the boy shrieked again and fell on his butt.

Ryohei ran to the boy's side. "EXTREME! THAT WAS AN EXTREME SHOW SAWADA!" The brunet flinched at the volume. "A-ano… emm.." He did not know what to reply on that statement. Uh-oh, he made a big slip up. On the same day, two people had seen a glimpse of his power. "AH, I AM SASAGAWA RYOHEI, I'VE HEARD ABOUT YOU FROM KYOKO. YOU ARE AN EXTREME MAN! NICE TO MEET YOU! YOU CAN CALL ME ONII-SAN FROM NOW!" Waw, another fast progress. Ryohei already asked Tsuna to call him 'onii-san' and what was that about Kyoko told Ryohei about him. Tsuna could only hope that she did not tell anything bad about him. "Ahh.. H-hai. Nice to meet you too onii-san," replied Tsuna timidly.

"DO YOU LIKE BOXING? HOW ABOUT WE GO BOXING TOGETHER? AH, LET'S DO SOME EXTREME JOGGING RIGHT NOW!" And, Ryohei dragged Tsuna into another round of extreme jogging. That day was the start of another beautiful friendship. Tsuna's life would start getting more loud, exciting, and eventful or to borrow Ryohei's word, more extreme. It was the start of how Sasagawa Ryohei and Hibari Kyoya kept pestering him and bugging him for sparing.

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><p><strong>AN: **What bullshit did I just write? -_- Hahaha. I think I haven't done my best with this chapter especially at the beginning of this chapter. Thank you for all the reviews you gave to me. Hope that this chapter good enough. Next chapter will be about Tsuna's Winter Break which is not really a break XD. Stay tune in!


	7. Winter Break or is it Winter Work?

Winter break was coming. Tsuna already received permission to go on vacation with Kawahira from his mother. When he asked for permission his mother only answered with "Of course you can go, Tsu-kun. How nice of him to ask you join his vacation?" Oh, if only his mother knew the truth. He had asked his mother if she wanted to join them, but she refused saying that she already had plan with their neighbors. Tsuna also refused the invitation of his friends to spend the winter break together, saying that his uncle already asking him to go on vacation together. When they asked where their destination was, Tsuna only shrugged, saying that his uncle said it was a surprise.

One and a half month already passed after Tsuna started his flame training. After that time when he lost control, his training regime got harder. Giotto and his guardians started giving him flame training. He needed to get used being exposed to the flames. He needed to get used making and receiving the flames. He made big flames, medium flames, small flames, tiny flames. He practiced shaping his flames. The other guardians attacked him with their flames, trying to build his endurance to other flames. Not only flames, the guardians taught him how to use weapons, from sharp weapons to firearms. In the previous timeline, he would only rely on his flames, skill to fight and guns. He needed to add more into his arsenals. His training regime was also added by sparing with Hibari in the morning and Ryohei sometimes after school. He would also still make time to his other friends and hang out with them. Now, his stamina and endurance had improved greatly. He could produce stable flames for longer times. He was able to go to dying will mode without losing his clothes. But he could not reach hyper dying will mode yet.

After three weeks, Takeshi, Hana, and Kyoko noticed some bruises and asked him if he was bullied or even worse being abused. Yeah, Tsuna was still bullied, but he could avoid them now. Tsuna was tired after morning sparing with Hibari so he only shook his head and just said 'Hibari'. That one word almost made the three of them—yes, even sweet Kyoko—to march to Hibari and told him off, damn the consequence. Fortunately, Tsuna could stop them before they could walk to their own doom. Tsuna realized that even if the three of them attacked Hibari together, they would still be bitten to death. Tsuna spluttered his explanations that Hibari just wanted to spare with him, like what he did with Ryohei. That just roused more questions, like since when he did that, whether Hibari threatened him or not, how it happened, and about Tsuna's own fighting skills. The next day they came early to see Tsuna's sparing with Hibari. Ryohei tagged along after heard the plan from his sister. Of course, the skylark hated the crowd and wanted to bite them to death, but he was stopped by the brunet. Tsuna said that he would stop sparing with him if he hurt them. Hibari immediately stopped and urged Tsuna to start their sparing. The spectators were amazed by Tsuna. He could talk to the said demon child and stop him from attacking someone. He could even fight on par with the strongest person in Namimori. When he was asked where he learned that, he said from family and no, it was not Nana. When he was questioned about the reason why he learnt to fight he answered with a solemn expression, 'to protect'. The solemn expression silenced them and made them hesitated to asked more question. Those things just added to the mystery of Sawada Tsunayoshi that his friends tried to solve.

Tomorrow was finally the day he would go to Italy with Kawahira. This winter break he would be really busy. There were many places to go, many people to meet, many plans to be executed, and he had only little time. He already prepared his clothes and some money that he saved up from his side job as informant and hacker, and sometime translators. He only brought his mitten for his weapon. It would be such a hassle to bring others noticeable weapons when they passed the airport security. Tsuna went to sleep with the hope that everything would go smoothly.

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><p>Of course with his luck, it would be difficult to have a smooth process. He just landed in Italy, and already met some troubles. After only ten minutes' walk in Verona, he lost Kawahira. Yeah, he had lived in Italy for several years before, but he was not really familiar with the northern part. He mostly stayed in Sicily for Vongola's base and most mafia's bases were in Sicily. He never really ventured deeper to northern Italy. If the man wanted to disappear, he should at least leave him at his destination or the place he knew of, Tsuna was annoyed. And if most mafia's bases were in Sicily then why was he took a flight to Verona and not to Palermo? Ask that to Kawahira, or so Tsuna grumbled and blamed Kawahira on his lack of knowledge on northern part of Italy. The answer was he was looking for his friend's location somewhere in the northern part, and yes, that friend also involved in mafia. Contrary to popular belief,—even the northern Italy's resident belief itself—there were also mafia in northern Italy. There were also some big family and clans in Milan, Brescia, Verona, Bologna, Venice and several other cities in northern Italy. He hoped those mafias did not think that it was a good idea to kidnap some lost kid like him.<p>

He already walked aimlessly for 15 minutes and his luck just got worse. He saw his father, Basil, Tumeric, and Oregano were walking toward him. They were at narrow alleyway, where there were only few people lingering and a few food stands. Fortunately for him, they did not seem to notice him yet as they were so focused in their conversation. He panicked. 'Oh, oh what should I do? What the hell they even do here?' he thought and cursed in his mind. Tsuna surveyed the area. His eyes landed on a few tables, chairs, and boxes beside a fruit stand. Tsuna ran to the boxes and hid behind them. He crouched on the ground and pulled a chair to hide him better. The fruit seller was busy with the customer so he went unnoticed. Tsuna held his breath and waited for the group of CEDEF passed him. After a few minutes they finally passed him and he could hear their conversation.

"It's getting more serious, isn'it?" He could hear his father's voice. "Yeah, the numbers of victims are increasing rapidly. Some small clans even already wiped out. There was also no exact pattern to the killing. This really creates unrest to cosa nostra," a woman's voice replied him and she whispered the 'cosa nostra', but Tsuna could still hear her. He was sure that she was Oregano. "The motives?" asked Iemitsu. This time the other man was the one who replied. "Unknown. Like what Oregano said, there was no pattern, thus he can't decide the real motives yet. It seems like they attacked every clans they came unto." The blonde made some grunt noises. It seemed that he was thinking. Tsuna could hear their steps beside his hiding place. Tsuna froze in his place, and prayed that they would move faster.

His luck betrayed him again. The steps stopped right in front of the food stall. "Good day, signore and signora. What can I help you with?" said the seller with cheerful voice after he finally realized some new potential buyers. "Ah, good day to you too. Good apples you have there. May I get two kilos of those?" Tsuna heard his father's cheerful voice. 'Shit, why the heck that stupid father of me decided to buy some apples right here and right now?' Tsuna groaned inwardly.

"So, have you heard anything suspicious happening around here lately?" asked Iemitsu again in friendly voice. The seller paused a moment before continuing putting some more apples to a bag. "Hm, yeah I think. The number of murders just increased these days. Yesterday, few blocks from here, there was a massacre of a small company. Police suspect it may be the doing of rival company. Ah, it makes citizens and sellers like me scared, after all that company was the one who ruled and protected the business around here." The man put the bag of apple onto a scale, to make sure that it was two kilos. "Ah, is that so? That's really concerning. Is there any specific suspect?" Iemitsu asked another question. "No, there was no strong clue or evidence found yet. But there is a rumor that there were fights inside between themselves before the tragedy." The seller gave the bag to Iemitsu and Iemitsu gave him a few bills. "Thanks for the news update. Here, keep the change." The money was more than enough. It was double the original price. The seller grinned. "Happy doing business with you, please come again." The group of CEDEF just gave a nod and continued on their way.

Tsuna peeked from behind the boxes and just his luck his eyes immediately met Basil's who was the last one to walk. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Tsuna ducked again. Basil tilted his head, asking to himself about the boy's behavior. The boy could not be a spy, could he? Basil dismissed the thought. Spy would do better than peeking like that. It seemed the boy just another street rat who was trying to steal some fruits. At that thought, Basil pitied the boy.

"Basil? What's wrong? Let's go," called Iemitsu. "Si, Master," he replied then jogged to catch up with the adults. Tsuna let out a relieved sigh. He waited a few more minutes before he got out from his hiding place. Now, it was time for looking for that old man again.

* * *

><p>Kawahira only let Tsuna out from his vision for five minutes and that boy already disappeared. What a skill. Now, he had to look for the boy. He hated to mingle with human, but he was forced to because of the boy. He had to ask information. No. He crossed that thought. He did not want to ask those human. It was too much hassle. He would just rely on his instinct and his sense of flames, but unfortunately, he just gave the boy a new limiter that would mask his flames for this trip without the boy's knowledge. Ah, he should tell him sooner and ordered him not to disappear as he wished. He hoped the boy had not met any troubles yet. However, Kawahira was not really sure. One thing that he knew about the boy was that the boy was a magnet to trouble. Kawahira corrected his wish. He hoped that the boy had not met any big and serious trouble yet.<p>

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><p>Tsuna tired of walking aimlessly. No, it was not his body that protested. His stamina was already good enough after training for more than six months. If he could not handle this small walk, he was sure that some of his trainers would gladly give him some extra training. It was his mind that protested. He did not want to get lost to the really bad side of the city and had a reply of what happened in Namimori. He knew that the level of the assailant's skill here would be higher than some new yakuza. If he also let out his flame during some fight, he was sure that he would attract some unnecessary and unwanted attention. That was why Tsuna decided to sit still at one place and waited for Kawahira. He sat at a bench near a fountain and hugged his backpack.<p>

The waiting made him thinking about the conversation he heard before. He could piece the information. It looked like that Mukuro was already on the move. Ah, stupid pineapple. He just hoped that Vindice was not onto him yet. He had to find him fast before there were more victims or before he killed the family that took him. For now, he could only wait for Kawahira to find him. Tsuna enjoyed the scenery. Ah, he really missed Italy, the old tall buildings and several fountain in the city, the statues, the people, the smell of coffee, the pasta. Italy was really beautiful. After he got past his nostalgia, Tsuna could feel he was getting sleepy. The cold breeze made him sleepy and cold. He hugged his bag tighter and buried his face onto the bag.

"Boy, it's not good to run away from home." A man's voice was heard, waking up Tsuna from his sleepiness. The man probably guessed he was a runaway boy because of his rather big backpack. Tsuna immediately upped his guard and slowly raised his head. He was faced with a black haired tall man with a scar—or is that a tattoo—on his right jawline. The man had strong aura and seemed scary, but he had a sincere smile on his face which made him less scary.

"Ah, don't be afraid. I will not harm you. I'm just a curious passerby. Do you have places to go? If not, I think there are still some places in my family house. It's in Brescia. I'm on business right now and will go home tomorrow. You can stay there until you clear up your mind. I'm sure my charges will also like new friend," reassured the man. Tsuna only stared at the man at that and looked around him, trying to find some companions that the man possibly brought with him. "Ah, I forget to introduce my name," he smiled sheepishly. "I'm Lancia," the man introduced himself. Tsuna knew the man from the first time his eyes landed on him. That was why he looked around him, trying to find a purple haired boy that might be with him. But there was no other person than the man. This time, Tsuna thanked his luck. He was able to meet one of his target at his first day in Italy.

"I'm Tsuna and I'm not a runaway," Tsuna said with flawless Italian. Lancia raised an eyebrow at the name. "Tsuna? You are Japanese? But you speak Italian. Waw, kid you're great," the man complimented Tsuna which made Tsuna flushed a little. "Then are you a tourist?" Tsuna nodded. "Are you lost?" Tsuna nodded shyly. The man chuckled. "I'm sorry for my random and perhaps rude guess. Let me help you. Do you get separated from your parents?" Tsuna shook his head. It made the man confused, but Tsuna then said, "I don't go with my parents, I go with uncle. He has white hair and wear glasses. He wears green t-shirt and blue jeans." The man took the words as a green light to help the brunet. "Okay, then let's go find your uncle." The man extended his hand to Tsuna which Tsuna grabbed. Tsuna stood up and wore his backpack again, then grabbed the man's hand again.

"Where was the last time you saw him?" Tsuna crunched his eyebrows, remembering the last place he saw him. He did not really remember. "It was ten minutes' walk from the airport, I think. But uncle never said where we headed to," _Because he said he still needed to check on your current place_.

"The airport was on the other side of the town. How you can get lost this far, kid?" Tsuna just blushed and bowed his head. Oh, if only his intuition would also work as a GPS, but sadly it did not work like that. It just warned him about danger and guided him to location that it deemed really important in the time of great danger to him or his family. After this, he needed to buy map and asked Kawahira each places they would visit.

"Lancia," someone called the man beside him, making both of them stopped. They looked to the owner of the voice that called who was running from the direction of where Tsuna waited before. The voiced belonged to a purple haired pineapple boy which he was familiar with. "What's wrong, Mukuro?" asked Lancia. "Ken ran off again and Chikusa went to find him, but they haven't been back yet. It already passed their usual time," said the boy then he turned to look at the boy beside his caretaker. Mukuro looked at the brunet suspiciously. "Kufufu… Who is he?"

"He's Tsuna. He's lost. I'm helping him to meet his uncle." Tsuna looked at the illusionist and introduced himself. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but call me Tsuna, nice to meet you." "Mukuro Rokudo," replied the other boy shortly. "Then, let's find Chikusa, Ken, and Tsuna's uncle together," said Lancia again. Tsuna nodded and Mukuro just stared at Tsuna.

Mukuro was wary about the brunet even though the boy looked harmless and innocent. The boy was also clumsy, he tripped several times. But, Mukuro knew there was something more than what meet the eyes about the boy. Meanwhile, Tsuna could feel that Mukuro was observing him. It made him a little bit nervous which made him tripped several times. Tsuna also made his own observation about the older boy. He was more open and showed more expression. Perhaps it was because he had to keep acting as an innocent boy in front of Lancia. Though, Tsuna saw that there was also some genuine expression especially when Lancia ruffled the boy's hair. There were annoyance, a little bit of affection, gratitude, and guilt. But those emotions immediately locked up inside metal cage inside Mukuro's heart. He still had revenge and goal to be fulfilled.

When Lancia talked to some street vendors for some information, Tsuna decided to talk to Mukuro. "Why don't you stop it?" said Tsuna without looking at the older boy, instead he was looking at Lancia. "Kufufu, what do you mean, boy?" asked Mukuro still with his creepy laugh. "Isn't he the one who take you in and give you family?" Tsuna replied with another question. Mukuro narrowed his eyes. "What do you know?" Mukuro hissed at the brunet, he was ready to take out his trident at any moment. Tsuna then turned at the now angry boy with a look that said 'I know what you don't know' which made the older boy got angrier. "What I know is that revenge is a futile thing. It will only bring more hatred and grief. You'll only know what you lost after you got your revenge and feel empty. Your need of revenge will only bring you down. Yeah, there's a saying 'eye for an eye and tooth for tooth.' Getting even seems good and the best act if your dear one got hurt by others. I don't judge you if you want to take a revenge for what you've been experienced. However, if you dragged others that have nothing to do with your past experience, isn't it selfish and really narrow minded? There are still good people out there, Mukuro, even in this wrecked and darker side of the world. Don't take out your anger on everyone. Don't put everyone under the same category. Don't lose your faith so easily like that. Your former family may be some assholes but you already have a new family that care for you, haven't you? Open your mind, open your heart and perhaps you'll find more people you can call family. Just enjoy your new freedom."

Mukuro was getting warier every minute. How did the boy seem to know much about him? Did he just guess? No, he was sure that the boy knew what he talked about. Who was him to preach on him "How? Who are you? Are you in cosa nostra? I thought you're Japanese. Answer or else," Mukuro threatened. Tsuna was not afraid. "It's a secret. Everyone has their own secret, right? If you insist, then just say that it's my intuition. I'm just a tourist from Japan, but yes perhaps there was some Italian blood in me. For yours last question, yes and no, it's complicated. A secret and a mystery make everything more interesting, don't you think?" Tsuna winked and smiled mysteriously, right at the time Lancia came back.

"Okay good news, the street vendors, saw the man who was seemed like your uncle, Tsuna. They also saw boys that seemed like Ken and Chikusa. Let's go." They continued their searching. Tsuna felt he got more intense look from Mukuro along the way. He knew that he should have more tact and did not talk bluntly like that. It already let out from his mouth, so he could not—and did not want to—take them back. Now, he could only gamble on his words to reach Mukuro's heart instead of making him accelerate his plan of revenge or worse, taking it out on him.

Lancia asked a few more times before finally they stopped in front of an Asian restaurant. They went inside and found Kawahira along with Ken and Chikusa. They were eating ramen. Tsuna got annoyed. He was waiting and looking for him and looked what his uncle did, eating some ramen.

"Uncle," Tsuna hissed, making his uncle turned to look at him. "Ah, hi there, Tsuna. I finally find you," the supposed to be caretaker of the brunet said with a mouth full of noodles. "No, I found you. I was waiting and looking for you. I'm just a kid and lost in a foreign country and what you do? You are here eating some ramen calmly. Dammit, you suck as a caretaker," Tsuna glared at Kawahira. "Hey, I'm also looking for you, but I need to replenish my energy and I found this wonderful restaurant," the man said to defend himself. Before Tsuna could retaliate, someone else cut the conversation.

"Kakipi, look Lancia and Master Mukuro are here, byon." Chikusa just nodded and fixed his glasses. The blonde then slurped some more noodles. "It's delicious, byon. You should try, Master, Lancia." He said cheerfully. "Hn," the other boy agreed. "Hey, old man, can I eat another bowl, please?" The blond boy turned to Kawahira and asked him cheerfully. "No, you already ate two. The ramen in this place is expensive," Kawahira refused.

"Ken, do you know that man?" asked Mukuro while Lancia just observed the situation and Tsuna still glaring at Kawahira. "Master, this man treats us for lunch, byon. We were hungry and didn't have money. We tried to pickpocket this man, but we caught red-handed, then he scolded us, byon. Then the growl of our stomach cut off his lecture and he asked us to join him for lunch instead, byon." Ken told the story with kid's excitement. Lancia who heard the story immediately looked at Kawahira. "I'm sorry for the trouble, sir. I'm Lancia, their caretaker. I'll pay for their meals."

Kawahira just waved him off, "Ah, no need. It's fine. I'm Kawahira. I see that you already meet my charge here. Thank you for bringing him here." He ruffled Tsuna's hair which made him huffed in annoyance. "You also take care of my charges there. By the way, your Italian's good and so does Tsuna, but you don't seem an Italian." The black haired man was looking for more information about the man. His upbringing made him cautious. "Ah, it's because I have business in trading. I need to master few languages to be able to have smooth business. We don't want to have others to trick us into some damaging contract, do we?" said the white-haired man with a smile. The other man nodded, showing his understanding of that topic.

Tsuna finally felt hunger after a long search. He tugged Kawahira's shirt and looked up at him."Ne, ji-san, can I eat too?" He asked and slipped into Japanese. The man just nodded, giving his approval, in turn, Tsuna gave him a grateful smile. Tsuna then looked at the boy who came with him and smiled widely. "Mukuro, let's eat," he then dragged the boy to the chairs and started looking at the menu, leaving the adults to talk. Mukuro was a little bit taken aback by the smile and the change of attitude. Was this boy a bipolar? His mood seemed to change quickly. It made Mukuro warier. "Ne, ne, Mukuro what do you want to eat?" Mukuro just looked blankly at the brunet. "Ah, you seem can't decide. Okay, then I'll choose for you," the brunet said and then told the waiter about their order.

"Hey, who are you, byon? Show some respect to Master Mukuro, byon. Kakipi, punish him, byon." The blond boy growled angrily. "Why should I? It's troublesome," the other boy replied monotonously. Tsuna looked at his new companion and introduced himself cheerfully. "Hello, I'm Tsuna. Nice to meet you. What's your name?" He threw them a blinding smile which made them flushed a little—along with Mukuro who still observing the brunet. The two boys looked at their master, looking for approval. Mukuro nodded, it would do no harm to know their name. They also had called each other with their name before. "I'm Ken, byon, that's Kakipi." Ken was back to his loud self. "Chikusa," the other introduced himself shortly. After that, they fell into conversation while Mukuro just observed them. Sometime Tsuna or his subordinates would try to include him in the conversation but he would just reply shortly.

After the finished their lunch, they went their separated way, but not without the promise to meet each other soon, or that was what Tsuna promised. "Bye, see you again, soon. I hope we'll meet again soon. Mukuro, I hope we'll talk more." Tsuna wave his hand to bid them goodbye and then went away with his uncle. After they went out from hearing distance, Kawahira talked. "How is he?" Tsuna's expression turned sour. "Still deep in revenge. The other two just follow his wish. They want revenge too, but it's not as strong as him," He explained. "What will you do?" asked the older man. "Waiting." The man accepted the answer and did not ask for more elaboration. After a few seconds of silence, the boy talked again. "The CEDEF is here. We must act carefully. I think if things become worse, we need to rely on your illusion," Tsuna added. Twenty minutes later they reached their hotel.

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><p>Gokudera Hayato was a half-blood and illegitimate son of a Mafia boss. He had lived in big mansion and received high education from the tutor that his father hired. He also played piano beautifully. It was a trait he inherited from his mother. His real mother was his piano tutor and he only knew it a few years after her death. He felt that he was living a lie this whole time. The rumor also made him think that it was his father's scheme that killed his mother. It made him loathed his father and his family. He decided to run away from home and made a living himself. However, living outside his protected mansion was hard. He was forced to mature. Betrayal, deception, fake sympathy, death, and other things that happen in the darker side of the world forced him to. He started to smoke because of his environment. It also helped to ease his stress. He was lucky Shamal threw some rope to him, to show him the way. The doctor taught him how to use dynamites and since then the boy relied heavily on the explosive. That was his mistake and also his skill. He started to make a name for himself as human bomb, 'Hurricane Bomb' or 'Smoking Bomb' Hayato. The mistake was he relied too heavily on the explosive and did not have other skill. He could not do anything if he did not have his beloved dynamites with him.<p>

Gokudera Hayato was looking for acceptance and a new family to serve. Despite his skill, many famiglia rejected him. The reason was his blood. He was half-breed. The mafia had a strong tradition and they did not really accept half-breed or illegitimate son especially Sicilian mafia. His piano skill also made people looked down unto him, thinking it was too girly and he did not really have a real skill in fighting. He had tried to join several families already but he had no luck. Every single family rejected him or just used him then wanted to dispose him. This time he would try his luck in the northern part of Italy. He hoped they did not really hold tradition highly like Sicilian. Deep inside his heart, he already felt the apathy. He knew that most Italian really regarded tradition highly, and thus, he had no place there. Gokudera pushed that thought deeper into the back of his mind. That thought would only hinder him and distract him. He did not need any distraction right now.

The silver haired boy walked into a motel he would stay for the night. Today he would rest. Tomorrow he would try his luck again. He already had an appointment tomorrow's night at some restaurant. Now, he just needed to rest and wait.

* * *

><p>Tsuna said that he would meet the Kokuyo gang soon, but he himself did not expect it to be this soon. He was about to eat dinner with Kawahira and went down to the lobby. There, they met with the Kokuyo gang who were about to eat dinner too. It turned out that they stayed at the same hotel. Lancia then offered to have dinner together. It would be his treat for Kawahira treated them for lunch.<p>

"Kufufu we meet again, Tsunayoshi," greeted the pineapple-haired boy. "Nice to see you again, Mukuro, Ken, Chikusa, and Lancia," Tsuna greeted them with cheerful smile and exaggerated enthusiasm. The others replied his greeting and also greeted Kawahira. Mukuro then gave a sign that he wanted to talk with Tsuna alone. Tsuna got that, so he matched his steps with Mukuro and walked behind the others. Mukuro put illusion around both of them. Tsuna could feel and see it, he was also sure that Kawahira knew it but let them. Tsuna feigned ignorance.

"We can talk safely now, Tsunayoshi," Mukuro started. Tsuna faked a doubtful look. "Kufufu, don't give me that look. I know that you noticed we are shrouded in illusion. You in reflex dispelled the vine that tried to trip you from beside you. Don't think that I don't notice that. Kufufu, now tell me. Who are you really are? How do you get that information?" Tsuna let out a sigh. "I already told you. I am Sawada Tsunayoshi. You are Rokudo Mukuro. I just give you a piece of advices. That's what matters. Everything else doesn't really matter," Tsuna looked straight at Mukuro's heterochromia eyes. "You should heed my advice, Mukuro," Tsuna added. "Kufufu, why should I? I don't even know you. You can be an assassin trying to kill me," Mukuro asked suspiciously. Actually the stare made him feeling something akin to approval and trust. "Because Mukuro, I am sincerely want to help you. I want to be your friends, no I am your friend even you don't even regard me as friend," Mukuro could hear the unspoken 'yet'. The brunet seemed to be sure of himself. "Kufufu, you are really interesting, Sawada Tsunayoshi., really one of a kind," the illusionist said right when they reached the restaurant where they would have dinner. Mukuro would try to solve the mystery of Sawada Tsunayoshi. It seemed that the boy held great power. Perhaps he could use his power. He could put his revenge on hold, the boy looked really interesting. It was not like he heeded the boy's advice, he still wanted revenge. He only put it on hold until he solved the mystery and could use the boy. Tsuna shivered, he knew that the boy behind him was thinking something bad about him, perhaps thinking how to use him. Tsuna shrugged; after all it was typical Mukuro.

The next day, both parties bid goodbye to each other. They exchanged address if they wanted to meet up again. Tsuna gave them his house address even with the knowledge that Mukuro would try to gather more information and he had the intention to use him. Tsuna also gave them his email address. For now, Tsuna was certain that Mukuro would hold back for some times. Just to make sure he would check him later before he went back to Japan. "Feel free to contact me if you need help or just want to talk," said Tsuna as he waved at them. The others nodded and went their way.

After they disappeared from his vision, Tsuna looked at Kawahira. "Now, where's the next place?" asked him to Kawahira. "Why don't we go sightseeing to Lake Garda? We are on vacation, right?" said the other man with faked cheer. Tsuna shot him a deadpanned look. It was winter. Even if it was not snowing yet, it was cold enough. Tsuna had heard about the beauty of Lake Garda's beauty even in winter it's really beautiful. The winter gave different scenery and feeling. But that was not what mattered. They were not really on vacation and Tsuna had more pressing matters and only had little time. Tsuna's expression turned to an 'are-you-serious?' look. "Ah, you're no fun, Tsuna. Just think it about your break from training and perhaps you will meet some interesting person," Kawahira winked at Tsuna then dragged the boy. They left their things in the hotel. They would back at night.

Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. Its eastern part is only 15 miles away from Verona. They just needed to take a bus and had 15 to 20 minutes' drive to Peschiera del Garda, the town at the south-end of the lake. It was the second time Tsuna visited Lake Garda. He visited the northern part of it before on some small vacation after he went to Venice. Tsuna went with his friends before, trying to get know Italy's tourist destinations.

Although Tsuna insisted that they were not on vacation, he still took some photos and bought some souvenirs, saying that he would give them to his friends and his mother. He appreciated the beauty of nature, the scenery soothed him. He felt relaxed, some stress lifted from his mind and body. It gave him a sense of peace.

Tsuna strolled down the shore alone. Kawahira was at some coffee shop, did not feel to have a walk. Tsuna scoffed at that. The old man was the one who dragged him to the lake, saying that they would go sightseeing, but here they were and the old man just stayed inside a coffee shop. Just a few seconds later after that thought, a smile crept up to his face. Tsuna knew what Kawahira meant. He thanked the man inwardly.

The breeze caressed Tsuna's hair, making his smile got wider. He skipped to the railing to look at the lake and the scenery around it. He leaned his body on the railing and hummed. It was really beautiful and peaceful. Tsuna was happy about this short moment of peace. He knew life would get harder soon. He should appreciate every peaceful moment that he could get. No, he should enjoy every moment in life, because life was short and he knew how short his life could be. He enjoyed the breeze, the scenery, the sound of rippling water, and his own humming. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, recharging himself. When he opened his eyes, his eyes were full with new strong resolve and determination. He felt like he could do anything he wanted. He was about to straighten his body and continue his way when his eyes caught a figure of another boy a few meters from him. The boy was alone like himself and also looked at the lake, but instead leaning at the railing, he sat on it. His feet were dangling above the water. His hands balanced him. He looked deep in thought. His expression was so serious. There was even a frown on his face. He did not look like that he enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Tsuna approached the boy. "Hey, a penny for your thoughts?" Tsuna greeted the other boy. The boy was startled by the greeting, and in turn making him lost his balance. He almost fell down to the lake, but fortunately Tsuna grabbed his waist, balancing the boy's body back onto the railing. It seemed the boy was really lost in his thoughts to not hear about Tsuna's approach. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Tsuna said to the back of the boy. After making sure that the boy could balance himself again, Tsuna let go the waist and walked to beside him. The boy turned his head to look at Tsuna. Violet eyes met hazel brown.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Thank you for your support to me ^o^ I'm really happy that I get good feedback on my first story in KHR fandom. There, there, some characters made up their appearance, although only for a short time. Actually this chapter should be longer than this. But I want to update soon, so I cut it, and decided to put it to the next chapter, and make some failed cliffhanger haahaha. I guess, some of you already knew who the other boy was. By the way, I dropped some small hints of what happened in the past on the last chapter. Anybody can pick it? It's really a little clue hahaha. Okay, bye for now. I hope I can update again very soon, because college will start on Monday and I'll be getting busier.

Another question is, Tsuna's saving Gokudera's life literally seemed to be overused. I'm thinking of some new ideas. But, in the end I think Tsuna will end up saving his life either way, but not from some freaky accident or because the dynamite. What do you think about this matter?

Okay, see ya! Don't forget to leave some reviews :) Thank you, Grazie, Arigatou, Merci, Komawo ^o^


	8. White and Silver

Byakuran Gesso was an heir to Gesso family, a relatively small mafia family. He was raised to be the perfect boss and spoiled as a child. He got everything he wanted. He received education from the best teacher, got the newest games and game consoles, got his wishes granted, lived in a big mansion, and had many butlers and maids that were ready to cater to his needs. He was used to have many subordinates since he was a little kid. He got personal bodyguard to guard him. He lived in luxury that would make many people envy.

He was always seen with smile on his face. At first glance, people would say that he was a cheerful and playful boy. Oh, if only they knew what behind those smiles and playful characters. There were resentments to his parents who only treated him as the heir to be raised, the trophy to be shown off, and a doll to be used. They did not treat him as a son. He had great sky flames which was rare, thus made his parents had great expectation on him. Behind those smiles there was also cruelty that was still growing. Being exposed to the darker side of the world since a young kid made him developed some warped personalities. He was still a teen right now so those warped personalities still had a chance to become more dangerous. He could become a mad man or some psycho that want to rule the world.

The boy just turned thirteen on last October. He got a new tattoo on his face for the world to see. It was placed under his left eye, in a shape of three upside-down purple triangles with different lengths. The lines of the triangles were rather curvy to the tips. The color accentuated his eyes. Purple represented nobility, luxury, power, ambition, and pride. The color also could calm mind and nerves. It helped someone align to the whole universe. Just like the color of purple, the triangles and the trinity held many meanings. It meant balance and unity. It represented creator, destroyer, and sustainer, creation, preservation, and destruction, spirit, mind, and body, and many other things. The upside-down triangle also represented femininity. However, those things were not the reason why Byakuran had that tattoo. The reason was simpler. It was because he was a Gesso, the heir to be exact. It marked him as a Gesso. Just like how Giglio Nero had flower mark, Gesso also had their own symbol. It showed how the boy was officially named as the heir and soon could inherit the family business. Although, perhaps some of those reasons really applied to Byakuran, still, he was the only one to know whether they really had some connection or not.

Byakuran felt choked by all the expectation he was supposed to fulfill. He could not live as a normal teenager. He did not have many friends. Every single friend that he had turned out to be a traitor or someone that wanted to use him. He had experienced betrayal firsthand. Deception and lies were his everyday things. Nothing about the underground could faze him anymore. He had already built up a wall on his heart.

Despite all the luxury he had and the smile he always showed, Byakuran was not happy. Since a kid his parents always told him that 'money can't buy you happiness, but money can buy things that make you happy.' His father also instilled to him that power was what mattered, in this world only the stronger would survive and the weak would only live in shadows. He always believed in what his parents taught him, but now he came to a point where he started questioning things. Yes, his father was right. But, the happiness he felt seemed fakes and did not last long. Nowadays, he only felt empty.

Byakuran was sitting on the railing at Lake Garda's shore, contemplating about those thoughts. He was in Peschiera del Garda, a town at the south-end of Lake Garda. He was not there on vacation. It just another business trip his father had where he had to tag along to be shown off to other families. They would stay there for two days. It seemed that there were some serious matters that needed to be discussed. Byakuran did not need to join the meeting for he was still too young and it would hurt those stuck-up men's ego if a brat like him was to join them. All he did just smiled, be introduced to some new people he did not bother to remember the name and face, then he was dismissed and supposed to wait for his father with his bodyguard. He could go anywhere in Peschiera as long as his bodyguards was with him. This time, Byakuran ditched his bodyguards, he could not think with their presence always hovering over him.

Byakuran did not really take notice of his surroundings or beautiful scenery in front of him. He was lost in his thoughts. The calm surrounding, the sound of water, and the breeze let him to get lost in his thoughts. His trained self even did not notice another boy came up from behind him until that boy spoke.

"Hey, a penny for your thoughts?" The sudden new voice from behind him startled him, making him lost his balance. He almost fell to the cold water, but luckily the newcomer held his waist while saying "I'm sorry I didn't really mean to startle you." Byakuran fixed his position and balanced himself again quickly, then looked at the other boy. His eyes met wide brown eyes full of concern and compassion. It froze him for a few seconds before he finally could compose himself. He immediately put his signature smile on his face.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, it's not my intention. I just wanted to greet you but I should know better than to greet someone who lose in their thoughts so suddenly like that, especially one who is at the side of a lake," the brunet rambled, his eyes showed his relief, apology, and concern. He seemed really sincere. Byakuran only stared at the other boy. The boy then seemed to remember something. "Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna," the boy greeted cheerfully with wide smile on his face. It was obvious that the boy was Japanese but with great Italian, such a rarity.

"Hello, I'm Byakuran Gesso," He introduced himself with his big smile on his face. "Nice to meet you, Byakuran," the brunet replied still with his wide smile. The white haired boy just gave a nod in reply. He was a little bit annoyed that this boy disturbed his time of thinking. What was this boy looking for? Byakuran was suspicious and wary. He had to. Even a young boy could not be trusted. However, somehow Byakuran felt something different with this brunet. There was something that attracted him, something familiar.

Tsuna turned back to the lake. "It's beautiful, isn't it? Giving you a sense of peace, even if only for a moment." Byakuran also looked at the scenery. Yes, it was beautiful, but he felt nothing. He could not really appreciate the beauty, it could not calm his mind, but still he gave a sound of agreemen. "Hn. Yes it is. Are you a tourist, or do you live here, Tsunayoshi-kun?" The white haired boy added –kun, showing his knowledge of Japanese culture.

"I'm just a tourist. I come with my uncle. He's in a coffee shop, and I decided to look at the beautiful scenery. How about you? Do you live here?" Byakuran shook his head. "No, a trip with my family. I live in Sicily. Your Italian is great. It's rare for a Japanese boy to learn Italian. Is one of your parents Italian?" asked Byakuran curiously. Even though he was wary, he could still appreciate great mind and smart people. "Hu-uh. I think, I do have Italian blood, even it is very tiny. It's also great to have another language on your arsenal, don't you think so?" Tsuna answered, and looked at the older boy. Byakuran gave a sound of approval, but did not say any words. They fell into silence and looked at the lake again.

Tsuna leaned against the railing, thinking how to crumble those walls that Byakuran had built around himself. Byakuran looked up at the sky. It was really blue. There were several white clouds floating around. Byakuran lost in his thoughts again. This time, he was thinking about new games he should play to alleviate his boredom and to distract his thoughts. But playing with those traitors was getting too mundane and it started to bore him. They were easy to fool and fall to his trap. They did not give challenge. Hmm, he really should look for new play things.

"The sky is blue and so does the sea. They are really similar, don't you think so?" The voice of the brunet woke Byakuran from his thoughts. "Huh?" Byakuran was really distracted with his own mind so he needed more times to process the words. "It's a lake, Tsunayoshi-kun, not sea," said Byakuran. "I know." Tsuna said with a knowing look. Byakuran felt there were something more behind those words the boy said before. Byakuran tilted his head, asking for more elaboration, but the boy just had a faraway look on his face. Hmm, this boy was really weird.

"Hey, Byakuran," the boy suddenly called. "Hm?" Byakuran gave a sign that he was listening. "Why did you make such a face in front of this beautiful scenery? You looked sad, confused, frustrated, and mad. No, even now, I can still feel that you're in turmoil. What can I do to help you?" The boy inquired sincerely. Byakuran narrowed his eyes at the brunet. "What do you know?" hissed Byakuran, slipped out from his mask. Tsuna shrugged. "Many and yet nothing. How about you tell me?"

"Why should I? I just know you, like for ten minutes. We're practically stranger to each other." Tsuna shrugged again. "Why not?" The brunet looked back at the lake. "Because it's a fellow sky's job to be each other pillars," he muttered under his breath. Byakuran could hear that the boy muttered something, but he could not make out the words. He was getting tired of the brunet cryptic messages and weird behavior. He stared and observed the other boy. The boy looked in pre-teen, perhaps still in elementary. He was short, had slim and small figure. Though, he was young, his eyes told different story. It told that the owner of the hazel brown eyes had knowledge that kids his age did not have. It also told that he had seen and experienced the world. Byakuran came into a realization. Did this boy come from the same world as him?

Byakuran wanted to voice his speculation. When he was about to speak, his eyes caught something glinted in front of the boy's chest. It was a pendant in a shape of a rainbow colored wing hang on a clock and cloaked in some chains, covering most part of the pendants. It was normal necklace, but Byakuran felt a sense of déjà vu. He felt like he had seen that before. He felt something pulled him from that pendant, calling him. He could feel his flames flared up after seeing that pendant. Something was asking him to touch that pendant, to do something with that pendant.

"Where did you get that?" Byakuran's mouth already moved without he realized. It was not a question he wanted to ask before. "Huh? What?" Tsuna asked, not knowing what the other boy asked about. "That necklace." Byakuran pointed. There was a flash of shock and fear of something on the brunet's face when he realized what the white haired boy pointed at, but the brunet covered it fast. "Oh, this. It's from my friends," Tsuna said with a fond smile which contradicted his previous expressions. It made the Gesso boy more curious. "Can I touch it?" The words slipped again from his mouth. He did not even know where the words and feeling came from.

The brunet hesitated. He did not know what the pendant would do. Would it give some effect to the other boy? But it already wrapped by mammon chains. If he refused, the other would get more suspicious. So he let the other touched the pendant.

When he touched the pendant, Byakuran felt something seeped into him, like a part of him came back after a long journey. His flames thrummed, like it welcomed its brother back. He felt power and strength from the pendant. He also felt that something blocked those powers. Byakuran thought he could get more powers by having that pendant. Perhaps he could trick the boy to give the pendant to him.

Tsuna could see Byakuran lost in thoughts and thinking something dangerous. So, he pulled the pendant from his hand. "Sorry, Byakuran. But I think I should go back, my uncle must be looking for me. Perhaps we can talk later," Tsuna said. "That's okay Tsunayoshi-kun," Byakuran said his smile was back on his face. The pendant already made he forgot his suspicions of Tsuna. He could find the boy easily. "Where do you stay? Perhaps I can visit you." Or perhaps he could just ask the boy's location.

"I stay at Hotel Trieste in Verona until tomorrow morning. Feel free to visit. Arrivederci." The brunet said his goodbye to the white haired. "Arrivederci," Byakuran replied. A few moments after the brunet turned his back, his smile turned to a smirk. His eyes gleamed with something malicious. A plan and new goal already on his mind: get that pendant. 

* * *

><p>Tsuna found Kawahira at the place he left him before. The old man was seeping to his drink calmly. "Oh, back already, Tsuna? Did you meet someone interesting?" Tsuna rolled his eyes. He knew that the man knew of his meeting. It had to be on the other plan before. He had felt the Gesso's presence in this city beforehand. "Yup, shall we go back, uncle?" The brunet thought that he had seen enough of the lake and there was nothing else to do here. "Hu-um. Let me finish my drink," the man took another sip from his coffee. <p>

* * *

><p>It was almost night. The time of the meeting would come soon. Gokudera was ready. He already got out from his motel and walked to the meeting point. He had gathered information about the families in the city of Verona and their city beforehand. He had back-up plan if they rejected him. Gokudera would not lose to those adults. He was stronger than what they thought about him. He could fit in into this world. He would prove it to them. He could not wait to prove it to them.<p>

Gokudera walked for twenty minutes. He took the long way to kill the time. Seven o'clock sharp, he went into the restaurant where the meeting was held. Gokudera walked to a table where several men in black suits were already waiting. He knew the Don was not between them. They did not think his worth the boss' presence. Gokudera scoffed at that thought inwardly. Outside, his face was stoic.

The meeting went fast. They offered the boy dinner which he refused. They gave him a mission which he had to do tonight, after the meeting ended. He had to steal some information from rival family which was holding some small party in the city. They said it was not something that really classified. The mission was just to prove his competence. The silver haired boy accepted a map with the detail of the mission and went out the restaurant. He could not stand their disgusting stare. They doubted and underestimated him. Their eyes mocked him, saying 'what a brat like you can do?' Yes, he was an eleven years old boy, but he was not a civilian dammit. He was born Mafioso. He was not some defenseless, whiny, useless boy. He would prove it to those adults. Those older people always underestimated someone younger than them. Oh, how he hated adults and everyone that was older than him. 

* * *

><p>Tsuna and Kawahira did not immediately go back to their hotel in Verona. They went sightseeing around Lake Garda. There were vineyards, hills, beautiful churches, and castles around there. Ancient villages and green landscapes gave them tranquility and helped them relax. They just enjoyed their time. They went back to Verona at 3.45 p.m.<p>

After reaching Verona, Kawahira and Tsuna decided to do more sightseeing. Verona offers a lot of things to see. There are many historical buildings and museums. Its walls, castles, fortresses, and landscapes narrate a history of wars and economic splendor. They visited the Shakespeare museum, Piazza delle Erbe (the old Roman centre and now Market Square)—where Tsuna bought more souvenirs—Piazza dei Signori (the political centre in middle age Verona), and Piazza Bra with the Arena, the Roman amphitheater. They also did wine-tasting, in which Kawahira tried to give Tsuna wine discreetly. He would get into problems if people noticed him giving some wine to underage boy.

The sky started to get dark. They still had some places to see. They continued their sightseeing after dinner. The last place they would visit was Juliet's house. They already visited Juliet's tomb and Romeo's house before. After all, Verona was famous for its Romeo & Juliet's legend. They stopped in front of the Juliet's statue. There were only a few people there beside them. It was already past ten. Most tourists already decided to go back to their hotel and would continue their trip the next day.

"Why don't you rub her breast too, Tsuna?" Kawahira said as he pointed his chin to the statue of Juliet's where there were two women in the middle of rubbing their hands to Juliet's breast. "Perhaps it will really give you good luck, or at least lessening your bad luck," said Kawahira teasingly. Tsuna rolled his eyes. Oh, if only this would really keep him away from trouble. He was reluctant to do that, but still he waited for the two women to go and then walked to the statue. He tried to reach for the breast, unfortunately, he was too short. Okay, he forgot that he was still in a kid's body. Tsuna stood on his tip-toe and reached out again. Still, he could not reach. He felt annoyed, oh how he hate his small and short stature. He heard Kawahira chuckled from behind him. "Need help?" Kawahira offered his help. Tsuna huffed and turned away. A blush came up to his face. He surveyed his surroundings. Good, it was clear, other people already went away and it was only them there. Tsuna then nodded shyly.

Two arms went to Tsuna's small waist. The arms lifted him up. Tsuna stretched his right arms to touch the breast, this time it touched. He wished that it would really bring him good luck, and that it would worth the embarrassment he felt. Just as he finished his thought and the touch, he heard some explosions and gunshot near.

"Uh-oh. More problems." He grumbled and then added in his mind. 'Perhaps it does not really work.' 

* * *

><p>Gokudera had finished his mission or so he thought. It turned out that he was only a red herring. He found someone else who did the same mission after he got the information needed and was about to get out. The other man was supposed to get further information while Gokudera tried to escape. He brought attention to Gokudera which forced him to run. Few bullets grazed him, but he could get out from the building. However, outside, the family that gave him the mission already waited for him, not to receive the information, but to tie the loose end, which meant to silence him. It was not the first time this kind of things happened, in fact, it always happened. The reason once again was because of his blood, his tainted blood, the half-blood.<p>

Gokudera threw his dynamites to the group of men in front of him and also the one behind him. He was sure it would take some of them, but he also knew that he was over numbered. Gokudera was smart, so he knew that he could not defeat all of them, the best act would be to run away, so that what he did. The smoke from the explosions helped him a bit in hiding and running away. Unfortunately, he could not outrun bullets. Yes he could dodge, but not all. Two bullets already hit him, one on his left ribs and one on his shoulders. Nothing vitals, but it still hurt and he was still an eleven years old boy, dammit. He threw some more dynamites to the men who chased him. He ran through the alley, tried to shake off his chasers.

All the running and blood lost made him dizzy. His stamina was not good enough to keep up with all the running and the blood lost. Still, he forced himself to run. His view was getting blurred. Oh shit, he started to lose consciousness. Uh-oh he could not faint right now, he would be dead.

Gokudera turned left to another alley and straightly bumped into another kid. The speed of his run made him and the other kid fell down. Unfortunately, on his fall, Gokudera hit his head on the hard concrete. The last things he saw before black were spiky brown hair that defies gravity. 

* * *

><p>Tsuna was confused whether to curse his luck or thank it. In the end, he decided to thank it for now. He found another friend of him which bumped him and now was unconscious on the ground. There were bloods pooled below his body. They did not bump that hard, did they? Tsuna took a closer look and saw bullet wounds. He could also hear heavy footsteps approaching their location. Tsuna turned to Kawahira and gave him a look which was replied with a nod.<p>

"It's safe. Let's go to the hotel," Kawahira said as he picked up the bleeding boy. They immediately left, leaving the confused mob behind who thought the boy disappeared into thin air and only leaving a blood pool in the middle of alley. 

* * *

><p>A white haired man was walking into a meeting room with a wide smile. Inside the room, his friends were already waiting for him. Just after he walked in, his smile fell. He could feel the heavy tension and gloomy atmosphere in the room. It seemed the situation was really serious. He swept his gaze around the room. Some people in the room had scowls and frown, but some also had smiles, even though they were not bright and happy smile, but reassuring and sad smiles especially the one which came from a brunet man. Brown eyes met him. He knew right that time, there was another death. But there was also a stronger determination. The brunet had plan, and the rest of the room would not really like it.<p>

The scene changed. Now, the same white haired man was inside an office room and in front of him were the same brunet man and another woman with mushroom hat and flower tattoo under her eyes. The brunet man was hugging the woman who was sobbing into his chest. His eyes were brimmed with tears but he held it for the sake of the woman. The white haired man walked to the brunet and hugged both of them, making the woman sandwiched between two men. They took comfort in each other arms.

More scenes appeared. More battles, more deaths, more tears, more struggles, more laughs, more loves, and more smiles appeared. More feelings and emotions were felt and shown.

The scene changed again. This time, the white was tainted with red. The white haired man was in the brunet arms. He was bleeding and so was the brunet, but he could his life was slipping away. The brunet that held his body was screaming and crying for his name. Guilt seeped off from his body. The dying man forced himself to give a last of his signature smile and told the other to not waste his death, to live and protect the others, and to not blame himself for his death. He also asked for one last smile from the brunet, which the brunet complied with hard effort. After that smile, the white haired man stopped breathing, still with his signature smile on his face.

At the same time, a young boy woke up and sat up from his bed. He was panting and sweating. His eyes were unfocused and unseeing, like he was not present at the time. After a few moments, his heavy breathing calmed down and his eyes started to get more focus. It seemed he came up to a realization. New resolve came up to the boy. His eyes gleamed with new determination. The boy stood up, changed his clothes, walked to the big window that connected the room with a balcony, opened it, then he jumped.

He did not fell into his death, but instead a pair of white wings spread from his back, taking him higher into the dark sky. The boy had a destination in mind and a certain person to meet. 

* * *

><p>Tsuna had already tended to the silver haired boy's wounds with the help of Kawahira and some sun's flames. The more-than-several-hundred-years old man, had enough medical knowledge to save the young boy. Now, they could only wait for the boy to wake up in the morning. Both Tsuna and Kawahira went to sleep.<p>

Few hours later, Tsuna woke up because he needed to pee. After he went to the bathroom, he checked the silver haired boy's condition. Feeling relieved, that the boy was sleeping soundly. Tsuna fixed the blanket with fond smile on his face. Then, he walked to the other side of the bed, trying to get to his previous position. However, the keyword here was 'trying', for he could not do that as the bell rang. Tsuna thought it just his imagination, but a few seconds later the bell rang again. Now, he hoped that it was only some kid doing some pranks and would go away, but once again the bell rang. Tsuna groaned. He just wanted a couple more hours of sleep after a long and tiring day. Who the heck even came here at the middle of the night at—Tsuna looked at the clock in the room—at freaking 3 A.M. in the morning? Tsuna glanced at two people beside him. Gokudera still fast asleep and Kawahira seemed to, but Tsuna somehow knew that the older man just pretended to sleep because he was too lazy to open the door. Tsuna groaned again and grumbled some more before he walked to the door and opened it.

What Tsuna saw behind the door really was not in his expectation. Okay, he did expect a certain white haired boy to visit him, but not at freakin 3 A.M. Yup, one Byakuran Gesso stood behind the door with his signature smile and closed eyes because his wide smile. He found the brunet's room after asking nicely—threatened—the front office, using his deep connection, not that he needed that, his creepy smile and sharp eyes could do it easily enough. After the boy realized that the door was already opened, the boy opened his eyes and spoke.

"What did you do, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" The smile turned into something that promised pain if the other gave wrong answer. Tsuna did not know what the boy was talking about. The question was so sudden and in his sleepy state Tsuna did not know what to answer. Therefore, he just stayed silent.

"I asked you, Sawada Tsunayoshi or should I say, Vongola Decimo?" Byakuran said again. The used of the title made Tsunayoshi immediately awake and looked at the white haired boy's eyes, searching for something. He did find what he looked for. There, in the violet eyes, Tsuna could find recognition, anger, relief, curiosity, and many more emotions that the boy from the morning did not have. Tsuna understood the situation and asked him to come in to his room.

"Why don't you come in first? We can talk inside and please refrain to come at this hour next time. I need my sleep," Tsuna let out a sigh as he ushered the older boy inside. 

* * *

><p>Gokudera woke up because the morning sun disturbed his sleep. It had been a long time since he felt a comfortable and soft bed, pillow, and blanket. He wanted to sleep some more, but the sun decided to disrupt his sleep. He cracked his eyes open slowly. He started to turn his body to shy away from the sun light to continue his sleep, but as he moved his body, he realized something. He could not afford this luxury. There was also a slight pain on his body. He started remembering what happened yesterday. His eyes widened and he almost bolted up before he controlled himself to analyze the situation first. He did not want to make his enemies realized that he awoke. He pretended to sleep and listening to the voice around him. He needed to get a better picture of his situation.<p>

His wounds were not really hurt anymore, which was weird because he just got freaking shot by bullets. There should be more pain unless someone gave him anesthetic, but it did not seem so. He was not tied to the bed nor had any shackles to restrict his movement. There were several people in the room. They seemed engaged in heated conversation. Two seemed like boys' voice and one a man. Their conversation did not make sense to Gokudera or even lighted any bulb in his head. It was not like a conversation held by the usual kidnapper or rival family. Moreover, it was in Japanese.

"It's the last resort!" said one of the boys with desperation. "But at what cost?" the other asked angrily. There was silence after that question. "You, old man. You must know about it. Tell me about it," continued the boy who asked the question. Before the man could reply, the other boy piped in. "Stop talking about this. We already talked about this for hours, Byakuran. I can't and won't tell you. Perhaps later, but not now." The tone said that he did not want to talk more. "Not when it concerns your life." There was another silence. The other boy did not reply and talk anymore. It made Gokudera uneasy. He wanted to know what happened.

The silence finally was broken by an older man's voice. "It seems the boy awake." Even though his eyes were closed, Gokudera could feel three pairs of eyes stared at him. He decided to end his act of sleeping and slowly opened his eyes. There, in front of him, he saw a brunet boy, a white haired boy, and a white haired man. All of them gave him smiles, but with different feelings. The brunet threw a warm one, the white haired boy gave a creepy smile, and the man gave a smile that saying 'Welcome to the Jungle or Club or whatever' which made Gokudera got more uneasy.

"Are you feeling better?" the brunet asked. The silver haired boy put on his scowl. "Who are you? What do you want with me?" He grunted, already feeling suspicious and ready to attacked, but he realized he got no dynamites in his arsenal. He cursed mentally. The brunet just smiled.

"Ah, I'm sorry. We haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. You can call me Tsuna," the brunet said, his smile got wider. Then the brunet looked at the white haired boy to prompt him to introduce himself. "I'm Byakuran Gesso. Nice to meet you Puppy-chan," the white haired boy with weird tattoo on his face, introduced himself and somehow insulted Gokudera which made him bristled. "What did you say creepy clown bastard?" Gokudera shouted. "Did you not hear it the first time, Puppy-chan? I said my name is Byakuran Gesso and nice to meet you, Puppy-chan." Gokudera was getting angrier. Who was this freak to have a right to suddenly call him a puppy? Gokudera spluttered curses to the boy while Byakuran just smiled and Tsuna sweatdropped. The curses and one-sided taunts were broken by a fake cough from the oldest man in the room.

"By the way, I'm Kawahira. You also haven't said your name, young boy. So what's yours?" Kawahira said. "None of your business," grunted Gokudera. "Ckckck.. is that a way to talk to your elders?" chided the adult. It only raised the boy's anger more. "Che. Everyone that older than me is my enemies." The brunet chuckled at that while the creepy clown commented with his shitty grin, "Wao, that's a lot."

"Where am I? What do you want from me?" Gokudera decided to ask what had been plaguing his mind. Tsuna was the one who answered him. "We are in Hotel Trieste in Verona. What we want from you, huh?" The brunet asked back then looked at two of his companion, asking for their answers which both of them only answered with a shrug. Tsuna thought for a moment then he also shrugged. "Nothing for certain, I guess." The silver haired boy did believe the answer and glared at the brunet, trying to decipher the real answer if there was any. "Okay, perhaps I want something," the brunet added as an afterthought. The glared got more intense. He was right, Gokudera was right. There were hidden intentions from these people. "I want you to take care of yourself more and be more cautious. Don't do things recklessly."

"Huh?" The glare lessened a bit. Confusion overcame the anger but it quickly changed back to anger again. "What are you talking about?!" Gokudera half-yelled to the brunet who only stared at him with serious expression while the other two just watched the exchange silently. "Life is precious. Yours too. Why you try so hard to survive just to throw your life away the next chance you have? What's your reason to stay alive?" "You- W-what- S-s- I—Shut Up!" shouted Gokudera. He did not know what to reply. The brunet tone was full with seriousness that eleven years old should not have. There was also sincere concern to what, Gokudera did not know, but it seemed to Gokudera's live, but it was not possible, wasn't it? Gokudera did not know about this boy. He could not be concerned about a stranger's live, could he?

Tsuna's serious expression melted down and changed into his warm expression. He threw another smile to the silver haired boy. "Okay, then if you want that. Now, now why don't you take a shower and change your bandage?" Tsuna dragged the silver haired boy who was still speechless to the bathroom's door, pushed him inside, gave him a set of clothes, then closed the door, leaving Gokudera with a thought 'What was that?'

After Gokudera finished, the other started taking turn in showering. Gokudera still felt wary about them, but it seemed they would not hurt him for now, so he would not attack them. He still had his own honor and code of conduct. It also seemed that they confiscated his dynamites, saying that they would give them back after he was getting better in which he thought that was nonsense because he was already feeling better. He cursed them and threw a tantrum, but they ignored him and just smiled. Then, the weird brunet and the creepy clown bastard (Gokudera's words) dragged him around the town without his consent. Gokudera wanted to run away but the brunet's grip was so strong. There was also that creepy grin that promised pain if he tried to disappoint the brunet.

The two kids and even sometime Kawahira always tried to include him in a conversation. Strangely, they seemed to know what topics picked his interests, especially the brunet. When the brunet started to a topic about UMA or aliens or mythical things, the silver haired boy would start rambling without him realizing. His eyes then would start sparkling with excitement and childish innocent. Tsuna then would only listen-even only half-through them-and smile fondly. He was glad that his friend still had his childish innocent side despite many betrayals he had experienced. Tsuna could even see Gokudera's smile several times when he talked excitedly. Tsuna knew which button to push, not to make Gokudera's angry but to make him smile. He was happy and a little bit relieved that he still knew something about his friends. Tsuna was not in any delusion nor was he trying to fool himself in believing that the past had not changed, or his friends would be the same. His existence on this timeline already changed something, if not everything. Just like parallel worlds that happened because every choice someone chose, Tsuna's existence already created ripple in the time. That was why he was glad that his friends still had several similar characteristics with his past friends. It gave him a sense of familiarity, a sense of belonging, a sense of home.

Gokudera did not know what he was feeling right now. He felt weird. He never felt something like this. He could talk for hours and his companion did not seem to mind him. It felt good to be listened. He could talk about the history of some historical buildings, the architecture, and even about his fascination in UMA. Those stares he felt from his new acquaintances did not judge him, instead he felt like they accepted him. He could feel bubbly feeling from inside. It stretched his mouth to shape a smile. He could enjoy himself for a moment. He did not realize that the night almost came. All good things must come to end, this time his fun had to be ended by the time.

It was around 4 P.M. when Tsuna took nervous glances to both Gokudera and Byakuran. He took a deep breath and then said, "I'm sorry, but Uncle and I must go to our next destination. We already overstayed our visit in Verona. There are many places to see, and we can't really ruin our itinerary." Byakuran narrowed his eyes and his smile froze while Gokudera scowled and muttered 'Like I care. Just go.' Byakuran tried to look at Tsuna's eyes to decipher his next plan. "And where is your next destination, Tsunayoshi-kun?" he asked with fake cheer.

Tsuna hesitated to answer. "Um.. it's.." He looked at Kawahira with a 'please-help-me' look. "Fufufu why are you asking? Are you perhaps trying to follow us?" Kawahira asked which actually hit the point. Instead of covering his intention, he blatantly showed it. "Why not? I want to be with Tsunayoshi. It's more fun" he grinned. Tsuna saw the real reason. Byakuran wanted to keep watch on him. He wanted to know Tsuna's plan and the answer to their previous conversation at the morning. "Then take a guess," replied Kawahira michivieously. Byakuran started to think, but without waiting for his answer, Kawahira continued. "But, we'll not wait for your answer. We are tight on schedule, so Arrivederci." Kawahira started walking away and motioned Tsuna to follow him. Tsuna stared at him and sweatdropped. Stupid, irresponsible old man! Tsuna stayed still for a proper goodbye.

"Ah, thank you for today. See you later, guys," He said with big smile on his face, then turned around to follow his uncle. However, after only two steps he turned back again and faced Gokudera. "Stop chaining yourself to the past and other people's view. You are your own unique person. Unbind your personal chain by accepting yourself. Believe in yourself and other people. But don't let others crush your flames of life. Those, who only see the surfaces and do not bother to go deeper, are not worth your time. I, myself, will be happy to be your friend. I won't judge you for I have no right. I hope we can be friend, but I won't insist. And please look for the answer of the question I ask you this morning. I hope when we meet again, you already have the answers. Bye," Tsuna nodded to himself, seemed to be satisfied with his words then he ran to catch up with his uncle.

Gokudera was once again caught off guard by the seemingly weak brunet's words. He was frozen in place, thinking about those words which really hit close, no, straight at home. It seemed like the boy's knew him and his past or was he just easy to read. Whatever the tricks of that boy, those words seemed to cast loose some knots in his heart and lift some his burden. He felt warmth and acceptance. The storm had calmed down. It could be controlled now. Gokudera felt that he could see himself in a new light now. Perhaps he should follow the advice of that weird brunet.

Gokudera's thoughts were disturbed by a certain white haired boy who existence almost be forgotten. "Puppy-chan, you seemed so serious." That nickname again. It ticked Gokudera. "Shut up! My name is not Puppy-chan! How many times should I tell you that, creepy clown bastard!" He shouted at Byakuran and reached for his dynamites then he remembered that his dynamites were still with Kawahira. He let out a stream of curses to the old man.

"But you never really told us, your name, Puppy-chan," Byakuran pouted and faked a hurt expression. "So, I just call you Puppy-chan." He already backed to his cheerful self again. "It's Gokudera Hayato, not Puppy-chan. Remember that!" Gokudera glared at the older boy. "Okay, Puppy-chan," Byakuran mock saluted and Gokudera just groaned. Stupid annoying freaking creepy weird clown bastard! Oh, how he really needed his beloved dynamites.

"Ah, unfortunately Tsunayoshi hasn't got your name yet. He must be sad. After he and Kawahira were taking care of your wounds, they didn't even get your name. I feel sad for them. Puppy-chan hasn't show any gratitude yet to them, I thought Puppy always show gratitude." Byakuran stroke a thinking pose, his forefinger touched his lips while he looked up. Gokudera's eyes widened. He did not even catch the subtle insult for he was focused to more important realization. He just remembered and somehow just realized that they had saved him. He did not even feel any pain, now it was only dull ache since the morning. Perhaps that was why he almost forgot about yesterday's incident. In the morning, his rage and wariness which also added by the brunet's words made him forget about his condition. Now, it was really downed on him, that they were his saviors, moreover Sawada Tsunayoshi. That boy had saved him physically from wounds and death, but he also had saved him mentally from himself. And what did he do? This ungrateful boy just shouted, yelled, cursed, and thought bad things about him. The silver haired boy suddenly fell on his knees in despair. He then shouted for the world to hear, "Tsuna-sama. Forgive me!" Cue some bangs of head to the hard concrete. It seemed finally Tsuna got his puppy back. Really, some things really never changed.

Byakuran just laughed amusedly which in turn making the silver haired boy glared sharply at him. "You, creepy bastard! You seem to have more information on Tsuna-sama! Tell me where I can find him. Where is his house? I'll follow and protect him, especially in dangerous country like Italy. Hurry, tell me!" Byakuran just stared at the younger boy in amusement. Hohoho, thinks just got more interesting. Tsunayoshi really made this world more fun. However, Byakuran also had something to do. He could not let the brunet act recklessly. He had to take his own action.

"Ne, Puppy-chan? Do you want to help Tsunayoshi-kun? Then why don't you get stronger first? If you're stronger I'll tell you his address and more information on him," said Byakuran with a smirk. 

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Here's an update! Happy Lunar New Year for everyone ^o^ May this year be a year of prosperity!

I don't know how this chapter come out. I suddenly lost inspiration in the middle of writing this especially after I got back to the town where my University is. College already starting. Huft! I'll get busier and perhaps can't update often. Forgive me in advance hehehe.

I also felt that I can't really capture Gokudera T.T and his scenes seemed rushed. Blame that on sudden lost of inspiration hahaha

I want to reply some guest's review here, those with accounts I'll try to PM you :)

For **KK**: Yeah, that's what I'm feeling too. Meeting friends really fun, especially old close friends ^_^ But what I mean by work here is that Tsuna had self-appointment mission that he must finished, some of which he cannot fail. That's why he can't really relax and have a 'real' break or vacation.

**SANIA0306**: Thank you very much. I'm glad that you love it. I always try to write each chapter more than 2000 words if I can. Do you have any suggestion how many words shall I write for each chapter? please feel free to give suggestion :)


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